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LIPPINCOTT'S 

TRAINING   SERIES 

TRAINING  FOR 
LIBRARIANSHIP 


LIPPINCOTT'S 
TRAINING  SERIES 

"For  those  who  want 
to  find  themselves" 
The  books  in  the  Lippincott's  Training  Series, 
by  the  leaders  in  the  different  professions,  will  do 
much  to  help  the  beginner  on  life's  highway.  In  a 
straightforward  manner  the  demand  upon  charac- 
ter, the  preparatory  needs,  the  channels  of  advance- 
ment, and  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of 
the  different  pursuits  are  presented  in 

THE  TRAINING  OF  A  SALESMAN 
By  William  Maxwell 

Vice-President  of  Thomas  A.  Edison,  Inc. 

TRAINING  FOR  THE  NEWSPAPER  TRADE 
By  Don  C.  Seitz 

Business  Manager  of  the  New  York  World. 

TRAINING  FOR  THE  STAGE 

By  Arthur  Hornblow 

Editor  of  "The  Theatre  Magaaine." 

TRAINING  FOR  THE  ELECTRIC  RAILWAY 
BUSINESS 
By  C.  B.  Fairchild,  Jr. 

Executive  Assistant,  Phila.  Rapid  Transit  Co. 

TRAINING  AND  REWARDS  OF  THE 
PHYSICIAN 
By  Richard  C.  Cabot,  M.D. 

TRAINING  OF  A  FORESTER 

By  Gifford  Pinchot 

These  books  should  be  in  every  school  and  college 
library.  Put  them  in  the  hands  of  your  young 
friends;  they  will  thank  you. 

Other  volumes  in  preparation 
Each  thoroughly  illustrated,  decorated  cloth 


LIPPINCOTT'S  TRAINING  SERIES 

TRAINING  FOR 
LIBRARIANSHIP 

LIBRARY  WORK  AS  A   CAREER 


BY 

J.  H.  FRIEDEL.  M.A. 

EDITOB-IN-CHIEF,    "  SPECUL    LIBRARIES  ";     EDITOR,    DBU'ARTMENT    OF    BUSINESS 

INFOHMATION,       "1  0  0  % THE      EFFICIENCY      MAGAZINE*';      LIBRARIAN. 

NATIONAL     INDUSTRIAL    CONFERENCE    BOARD;     MEMBER,     JOINT 

COMMITTEE     OF     SEVEN,     OF    THE     AMERICAN     LIBRARY 

ASSOCUTION      AND      THE     SPECIAL      LIBRARIES 

ASSOCIATION,    ON    SPECIAL    LIBRARIES 


8  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  LONDON 
J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 


\  ^ 


p^ 


COPYRIQHT,  192 1,  BY  J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 


PRINTED  BY  J.   B.   LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 

AT  THE  WASHINGTON  SQUARE   PRESS 

PHILADELPHIA.   TJ.  S.   A. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

Just  now,  when  conditions  are  right  for 
rapid  library  extension  in  the  United  States, 
there  is  a  shortage  of  librarians.  A  large 
city  library  recently  reported  more  than  two 
hundred  vacancies  on  its  staff.  Other 
libraries,  large  and  small,  are  suffering  from 
similar  conditions.  Positions  ranging  in 
salary  from  $1500  to  $3000  have  been  vacant 
for  months  because  of  the  difficulty  in  find- 
ing the  right  person  for  each  position.  Di- 
rectors of  library  schools  are  overwhelmed 
with  requests  for  trained  people  to  fill  va- 
cancies in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

This  is  discouraging  to  library  progress. 
The  town,  city,  county  or  industry  about  to 
establish  a  library  loses  interest  when  it 
learns  that  a  library  in  a  neighboring  com- 
munity has  been  without  a  librarian  for  sev- 
eral weeks  or  has  been  forced  to  engage  an 
inexperienced,   untrained   substitute.     The 

5 


455834 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

large  library,  having  experienced  the  diffi- 
culty of  keeping  present  departments  ade- 
quately manned,  hesitates  to  launch  new 
features  which  will  require  additional  ex- 
pert direction. 

Yet  the  need  and  opportunity  for  library 
extension  probably  never  were  so  great. 
There  are  many  thousands  of  young  men 
who  entered  the  army  at  high  school  or  col- 
lege age  who  will  not  return  to  the  class- 
room, but  who  will  read  and  study  if  books 
are  made  easily  available.  Many  of  them 
acquired  or  developed  a  reading  habit  in  the 
camp  libraries. 

Men  and  women  everywhere,  because  of 
the  changing  world  conditions,  are  inter- 
ested as  never  before  in  world  problems,  in 
history,  government,  pohtics  and  sociology. 
The  foreign-born  population,  always  inter- 
ested, is  now  being  stimulated  by  the  Amer- 
icanization movement  in  all  its  phases  to 
learn  not  only  the  English  language,  but 
something  of  American  political,  social  and 
cultural  ideals,  history  and  traditions. 

6 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

A  book  publisher  says  there  is  "  a  positive 
hunger  for  books  "  which  cannot  be  ade- 
quately supplied  through  existing  libraries 
and  other  book  distributing  agencies. 

The  daily  correspondence  of  the  Amer- 
ican Library  Association  shows  an  in- 
creasing interest  in  books  and  in  the 
establishment  of  hbraries  in  parts  of  the 
country  which  have  previously  given  little 
thought  to  these  matters. 

This  book  is  written  by  one  who  knows 
of  the  opportunities  for  library  development 
and  who  realizes  the  necessity  for  more 
library  workers. 

It  describes  the  different  kinds  of  libraries 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  prospective 
librarian,  giving  facts  that  will  be  useful  to 
anyone  who  contemplates  entering  this  pro- 
fession. So  far  as  I  know,  it  is  the  only 
book  which  treats  librarianship  from 
this   standpoint. 

Experienced  librarians  will  find  in  this 
book  some  useful  tabulations  and  lists  and 
interesting  discussions  of  various  types  of 

7 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

libraries.  They  will  also  (inevitably)  find 
some  expressions  of  opinion  with  which  they 
do  not  agree. 

But  it  may  be  hoped  that  it  will  reach 
thousands  of  young  men  and  women,  and 
that  through  it  many  of  them  will  be  induced 
to  choose  librarianship  as  a  profession — a 
profession  that  combines  business,  scholar- 
ship, education  and  social  service;  a  pro- 
fession which  pays  a  living  wage  and  offers 
an  opportunity  for  real  service. 

Carl  H.  Milam. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

'  I.    LiBRARIANSHIP  AS   A    PROFESSION 13 

II.  The  Technical  and  Administil^tive  Work  of  a 

Library 22 

III.  The  Public  Library 45 

IV.  The  Social  and  Special  Work  of  the  Public 

Library 53 

V.  Proprietary  and  Subscription  Libraries 77 

VI.  School  Libraries 83 

VII.  The  Specla.l  Library 94 

Vm.  Agricultural  Libraries 101 

'  IX.  Business  Libraries 113 

X.  Financial  Libraries 122 

XL  Law  Libraries 129 

XII.  Medical  and  Institutional  Libraries 136 

XIII.  Technical  Libraries 146 

XIV.  Theological  Libraries 155 

XV.  State,  Legislative  Reference  and  Municipal 

Reference  Libraries 162 

XVI.  Library  Commissions 173 

XVII.  Training  Schools  and  Agencies 182 

XVIII.  Library  Assoclvtions 195 

XIX.  Filing  as  a  Profession 203 

XX.  General  Conclusions 208 

XXI.  Suggested  Further  Reading  on  Training  for 

Librarianship 222 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

The  Christmas  Story  Hour  in  the  Detroit  Public  Library. 

Frontis'piece 

The  Printed  Page  Carries  Its  Message 34 

The  New  York  Public  Library 60 

Through  the  Good  Offices  of  the  American  Library  Associa- 
tion Our  Merchant  Marine  Above  and  Below  Decks  is 
Supplied  with  Current  Literature  and  Books 84 

The  Crew's  Reading  Room  Aboard  Ship  and  the  Wards  in 
the  Hospital  Are  Taken  Care  of  by  the  American 
Library   Association 110 

Bates  Hall  Affords  the  People  of  Boston  an  Unexcelled 

Reading  Place  Provided  by  Public  Funds 138 

School  Libraries  Form  an  Important  Part  of  Education 
Both  in  the  High  School  as  Pictured  Above  and  the 
Elementary  School  Shown  Below 162 

Two  Pictures  Illustrating  the  Library  of  a  National  Manu- 
facturer in  New  York  and  the  Periodical  and  General 
Reading  Room  of  a  Great  Copper  Mining  Concern 
in  Arizona 188 


TRAINING  FOR 
LIBRARIANSHIP 

CHAPTER  I 

LiBRARIANSHIP  AS  A  PkOFESSION 

In  the  past  the  belief  was  common  that 
training  for  librarianship  was  not  possible. 
"  Gustos  librorum  nascitur,  non  fit,"  the 
sajang  ran, — the  librarian  is  born,  not  made. 
It  was  not  strange  that  such  an  attitude 
should  exist  and  that  it  should  persist. 
Librarianship,  as  modern  librarianship  is 
understood  and  practised,  had  not  yet  won 
its  spurs.  Libraries  were  regarded  solely  as 
tools  of  the  scholar,  and  the  librarian, 
himself,  was  frequently  a  scholar  of  no 
mean  reputation.  Libraries  existed  pri- 
marily for  those  who  thought  things;  they 
did  not  plan  to  serve,  as  they  do  to-day,  the 
man  or  woman  who  makes  things  and  does 
things.    Furthermore,  those  phases  of  library 

13 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

work  which  we  may  refer  to  as  the  social  ser- 
vice of  the  modern  library — such  as  work 
with  physically  and  mentally  defective,  the 
delinquent,  the  unskilled,  the  untrained,  the 
alien,  and  which  have  been  America's  great 
contribution,  were  not  yet  thought  of;  they 
are  in  the  main  developments  of  the  last 
twenty  years.  Scientific  method  in  the 
library  was  yet  in  its  infancy.  Library 
schools  for  the  systematic  training  of  Ubra- 
rians  and  their  assistants  were  unknown. 
Librarianship  had  not  yet  won  recognition 
as  a  profession. 

All  this  has  undergone  change.  In  the 
United  States  occasionally,  and  abroad  more 
often,  the  voice  of  the  past  is  still  heard,  but 
it  is  heard  less  frequently.  In  1903  the  great 
English  librarian,  James  Duff  Brown,  in 
describing  the  qualifications  for  librarianship, 
stated  that  "  Like  the  prominent  members  of 
every  other  trade,  profession  or  branch  of 
learning,  good  librarians  are  born,  not  made. 
No  amount  of  training  or  experience  will 
create  such  natural  gifts  as  enthusiasm,  origi- 
nality, initiative  and  positive  genius  for  the 

14 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

work."  Yet  even  he  was  forced  to  add  the 
reservation,  "But  training  in  sound  methods 
will  help  to  provide  a  passable  substitute  for 
natural  aptitude."  Between  1903,  when  this 
was  written,  and  1919,  opinion  in  England 
had  undergone  considerable  change;  this  is 
evident  from  the  fact  that  in  September, 
1919,  the  School  of  Librarianship,  the  first 
library  training  school  of  its  kind  in  Great 
Britain,  was  established  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  London. 

Preparation  for  library  work  may  be 
attained  tlirough  self -education,  through  ap- 
prenticeship training,  through  experience  in 
a  library,  through  attendance  at  summer 
school,  evening,  or  other  special  courses  at 
an  existing  school  or  university,  or  through 
attendance  at  one  of  the  library  schools. 
Certain  qualities  which  predispose  one  for  the 
work  may  be  inborn,  such  as  love  of  children 
in  one  planning  to  pursue  library  work  with 
children ;  but  whatever  the  individual  natural 
talents  possessed,  training  itself  is  indispen- 
sable. Effective  work  in  any  library  to-day 
is   predicated   on   intimate   knowledge    of 

15 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

library  science,  on  skill  and  special  informa- 
tion which  can  best  be  obtained  through 
proper  training. 

When  Thomas  Edison  was  asked  not  long 
ago  whether  invention  could  be  taught,  he 
replied  that  it  could.  This  incident  typifies 
the  modern  conception  of  scientific  research 
as  contrasted  with  the  attitude  of  the  last 
century  toward  invention.  In  the  same  way, 
the  attitude  toward  training  for  librarianship 
of  the  librarian  of  the  past  and  the  librarian 
of  to-day  may  be  taken  as  one  of  the  out- 
standing differences  between  the  old  libra- 
rianship and  the  new.  Men  born  with  a 
natural  genius  for  any  particular  vocation 
are  few ;  even  with  them  genius  is  little  more 
than  aptitude  for  hard  work.  The  many 
must  and  always  will  have  to  submit  to  prep- 
aration and  special  training  for  their  life 
work.  Fortunately  librarianship  is  a  profes- 
sion calling  for  qualities  and  aptitudes  so 
various  as  to  open  it  to  many  differing  types 
of  persons,  and  also  to  both  men  and  women. 

What  is  the  worker  in  the  modern  library 
called  upon  to  do,  and  why  is  special  training 

16 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

needed  for  his  work?  The  question  is  quite 
obvious  and  demands  answer.  The  ordinary 
person  in  any  of  our  larger  cities  who 
uses  his  pubhc  library  knows  that  certain 
processes  or  necessary  formalities  must  be 
gone  through  before  he  can  borrow  a  volume 
for  home  reading.  A  card  catalog  must  be 
consulted  to  see  if  the  book  in  question  is  in 
the  library ;  if  it  is,  its  book  number  must  be 
secured  so  that  it  can  be  located.  Sometimes 
a  slip  must  be  filled  out  before  it  can  be 
brought.  The  reader's  right  to  borrow  must 
be  determined.  If  he  already  has  a  bor- 
rower's card  this  step  is  unnecessary,  since  it 
is  evidence  of  his  agreement  to  comply  with 
the  rules  of  the  hbrary  and  also  of  his  right 
to  borrow.  But  even  so  his  card  must  be 
stamped,  and  the  date  his  book  is  taken  or  the 
date  it  will  become  due  indicated.  All  these 
steps  are  familiar  to  anyone  who  has  used 
his  pubhc  library.  They  are  but  outer  evi- 
dences of  the  machinery  underneath. 

The  mechanics  of  librarianship  is  quite 
complex;  yet  a  thorough  intimacy  with  it  is 
fundamental    to    intelligent    work    in    the 

2  17 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

library.  Books  must  be  selected,  bought  and 
made  accessible;  records  of  various  kinds 
must  be  kept,  methods  learned  or  thought  out 
and  applied;  problems  of  shelving,  listing, 
classification,  cataloging,  indexing,  and  filing 
must  be  met ;  bibliographies  and  reading  lists 
must  be  prepared  and  questions  of  various 
kinds  answered.  In  addition  there  are  prob- 
lems of  maintenance  and  routine — equip- 
ment to  be  purchased,  building  questions  to 
be  studied,  meetings  of  library  committees  or 
boards  of  trustees  to  be  arranged,  funds  to 
be  raised  or  invested,  methods  for  attracting 
readers  to  be  devised  and  proper  service  given 
them  when  they  come.  Furthermore,  there 
are  the  many  questions  arising  out  of  the 
emplojTnent  and  proper  management  of  a 
staff.  These  items  are,  however,  only  sug- 
gestive and  the  list  might  be  much  extended, 
but  they  serve  to  indicate  the  wide  variety, 
intricacy,  and  technical  nature  of  the  prob- 
lems encountered. 

For  librarianship  is  not  a  dead  work.  It 
calls  for  executive  ability,  and  for  the  display 
of  those  qualities  that  make  for  success  in 

18 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

business.  It  calls  for  a  wide  fund  of  infor- 
mation and  the  ability  to  marshal  facts  as 
well  as  to  manage  persons.  The  world  of 
print  is  the  librarian's  domain,  and  he  must 
not  only  really  know,  but  his  knowledge  must 
be  of  extended  and  orderly  character  so  as  to 
be  capable  of  easy  and  systematic  presenta- 
tion to  another.  A  logical  mind,  a  sense  of 
order,  and  a  fairly  retentive  memory  are 
therefore  essential. 

A  librarian  has  been  defined  as  "  one  who 
earns  his  living  by  attending  to  the  wants  of 
those  for  whose  use  the  library  exists;  his 
primary  duty  being,  in  the  widest  sense  of 
the  phrase,  to  save  the  time  of  those  who  seek 
his  services."  The  librarian  is  thus  in  a  sense 
a  social  service  worker  as  well  as  an  efficiency 
engineer,  and  his  work,  as  we  shall  see,  calls 
for  activities  and  attitudes  of  mind  common 
to  both  of  these.  In  the  pubhc  library,  the 
librarian  is  in  charge  of  a  public  service  the 
significance  and  value  of  which  is  being 
recognized  in  ever-increasing  degree.  In  the 
business  library  he  is  the  firm's  consulting 
analyst  in  the  use  of  print.     He  must  have 

19 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

a  wide  knowledge  of  available  sources  of 
information     whether     books,     pamphlets, 
newspapers,  magazines,  institutions  or  indi- 
viduals. The  librarian  is  everywhere  a  recog- 
/  nized  intellectual  guide,  and  clearly,  before 
'    one  can  guide,  one  must  know.    Knowledge 
is  power,  and  to  the  man  or  woman  who 
\    knows,  the  world  of  opportunity  is  open. 
i     The  community,  like  the  corporation,  is  only 
I    too  eager  to  employ  such  persons,  and  the 
I    more  they  know  the  greater  is  their  value  and 

the  better  the  salaries  they  can  command. 
X.  Besides  possessing  administrative  abiUty, 
sound  common  sense,  a  liberal  and  open  mind, 
knowledge  and  zeal  in  the  advancement  of 
learning,  the  librarian  must  be  courteous  and 
tactful,  willing  to  aid  every  inquirer  no  mat- 
ter how  learned  or  ignorant.  Patience  and 
ability  to  apply  himself  to  a  task  until  it 
is  completed  are  valuable  qualities  to  pos- 
sess ;  the  apathetic  and  those  of  uneven  tem- 
per will  not  succeed  in  the  work.  In  the  past 
the  belief  has  at  times  prevailed  that  the 
library  was  a  sinecure  which  one  incapaci- 
tated by  accident  or  other  infirmity,  too  old, 

20 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

or  incapable  of  other  work,  might  fill  compe- 
tently. This  idea  is  occasionally  though 
infrequently,  met  with  to-day,  but  it  is  a 
passing  view.  Good  health  and  an  alert  mind 
it  is  realized  more  and  more  are  fundamental. 
In  special  types  of  libraries  special  qualifi- 
cations may  be  required,  but  in  general,  the 
man  or  woman  of  good  physical  and  mental 
health,  of  good  character  and  possessed  of 
business  capacity,  well  read,  of  good  educa- 
tion and  with  a  sense  of  scholarship,  has  the 
foundations  for  the  profitable  pursuit  of 
training  for  librarianship. 


21 


CHAPTER  II 

The  Technical  and  Administrative 
Work  of  a  Library 

The  work  of  any  library  falls  naturally 
into  two  parts.  The  first  of  these  may  be 
referred  to  as  the  technical  work  of  the 
library;  it  is  concerned  with  the  preparation 
of  printed  and  other  literary  matter  for  use. 
The  second  of  these  may  be  referred  to  as  the 
social,  special  or  personal  work  of  the  library ; 
it  is  concerned  with  the  actual  use  of  the 
library  materials  and  information  resources. 
Clearly  before  materials  can  be  used,  they 
must  be  organized  for  use. 

A  knowledge  of  the  mechanics  of  librarian- 
ship  is  fundamental  to  effective  work  in  any 
library.  For  the  capable  assistant  familiar- 
ity with  the  underlying  aspects  of  library 
science  and  practice  is  advisable;  for  the 
library  executive  it  is  indispensable.  An  inti- 
mate understanding  of  the  mechanics  of 
engineering  is  assumed  in  the  engineer,  so  a 

22 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

thorough  knowledge  of  the  mechanics  of 
librarianship  is  to  be  expected  of  the 
true  librarian. 

The  technical  work  of  a  library  covers 
such  activities  as  book  selection,  ordering, 
accessioning,  classification,  cataloging,  in- 
dexing and  fihng.  While  practice  in  dif- 
ferent libraries  may  vary,  the  principles 
upon  which  the  technical  work  of  the  library 
rests  are  fairly  well  determined. 

In  the  past  development  of  the  collections 
of  a  library  was  a  somewhat  haphazard  proc- 
ess. Nimiber  of  volumes  was  a  dominant 
consideration.  Conditions  to-day  are  differ- 
ent, and  as  time  goes  on  it  may  be  safely 
assumed  that  greater  attention  will  have  to  be 
paid  to  the  selection  and  ordering  of  library 
material.  It  is  quite  evident  that  the  printing 
press  plays  a  very  prominent  part  in  our 
daily  life.  It  must  also  be  apparent  that  the 
amount  of  printed  matter  that  is  continually 
being  turned  out  by  the  printing  presses  is 
so  great,  and  is  increasing  at  such  a  pace, 
that  no  library  can  reasonably  expect  to 
secure  and  house  it  all. 

23 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

The  selection  and  ordering  of  material 
thus  comes  to  be  a  most  important  part  in  the 
work  of  any  library.  It  must  be  done  intelli- 
gently, with  definite  understanding  of  the 
library's  needs  and  with  a  knowledge  of  book 
content  and  book  values.  Since  space  on  the 
shelves  must  be  regarded  as  at  a  premium, 
books  and  other  material  contemplated  for 
purchase  must  be  considered  both  with  re- 
spect to  the  need  of  the  library  and  its 
patrons.  Will  the  item  duplicate,  supple- 
ment or  extend  the  library  collections?  To 
decide  this  some  idea  of  its  content  as  of 
that  of  the  material  already  in  possession  of 
the  library  is  required.  In  addition,  familiar- 
ity with  book  prices,  discounts,  conditions  in 
the  book  trade,  a  knowledge  of  what  to  buy, 
and  when  and  where,  are  essential.  Auction 
and  second-hand  catalogs  must  be  studied, 
bids  made,  correspondence  conducted. 
Orders  must  be  placed,  gifts  acknowledged, 
sale  or  exchange  of  duplicates  arranged,  and 
records  of  all  transactions  kept. 

In  the  smaller  library,  the  librarian  is  of 
necessity  required  not  only  to  supervise  but 

24 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

to  carry  out  most  of  the  functions  of  the 
library.  In  the  larger  library,  departmental- 
ization and,  therefore,  speciahzation  are  pos- 
sible. Thus,  in  the  larger  library,  some  of 
the  departments  generally  met  with  are: 
administrative,  order,  catalog,  circulation, 
bindery,  newspaper,  reference  and  special 
libraries.  Whether  executed  by  an  indi- 
vidual or  by  a  department,  the  functions  de- 
scribed below  pertain  to  all  libraries,  and  in 
their  major  aspects  are  ahke  for  both  small 
and  large  libraries. 

The  order  department  in  a  library  is  re- 
sponsible for  the  order  and  purchase  of 
books.  Good  business  sense  is  preeminently 
necessary  for  satisfactory  work  in  it. 

The  best  for  the  least  in  the  quickest  time 
is  the  cardinal  principle  in  all  library  pur- 
chasing. Books  required  immediately  will  of 
necessity  be  purchased  at  once  if  in  print, 
but  where  the  element  of  time  is  of  little 
consequence  it  may  be  more  advisable  to  wait 
imtil  purchase  at  auction,  second-hand  or 
publisher's  remainder  price  is  possible.  Such 
prices  are  frequently  considerably  lower  than 

25 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

the  original.  Better  prices  can  be  secured  on 
quantity  purchases ;  consequently,  where  sev- 
eral copies  of  a  single  work  are  required,  it  is 
best  to  order  these  at  one  time.  Buying 
through  a  local  dealer  presents  at  times  ad- 
vantages in  service  and  in  price.  Where  deal- 
ing through  a  local  bookseller  is,  however, 
unsatisfactory,  resort  may  be  had  to  dealers 
in  the  various  book  centers.  \Miatever  the 
method  pursued,  it  must  ever  be  remembered 
that  the  first  task  of  a  library,  if  it  wishes  to 
serve  and  exert  a  beneficial  influence  on  its 
community,  is  to  select  its  books  carefully. 

In  the  selection  of  books,  no  one  person's 
judgment  can  be  the  sole  guide.  Competent 
reviews,  digests  and  abstracts  may  prove 
helpful,  but  reference  may  also  be  had  to  the 
opinions  or  advice  of  specialists.  Certain 
publications  also  serve  as  a  direct  help. 
Among  these  may  be  mentioned  the  Pub- 
lishers' Weekly,  which  notes  all  current 
American  publications,  the  Publishers' 
Trade  List  Annual,  which  notes  publications 
in  print,  the  Cumulative  Book  Index,  which 
notes  books  as  they  appear  from  month  to 

26 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

month,  and  the  Book  Review  Digest,  which 
quotes  from  the  better  reviews.  The  United 
States  Catalog  and  the  American  Library- 
Association  monthly  Booklist  of  titles  for 
small  libraries  are  also  helpful.  In  addition 
certain  libraries  issue  regularly  lists  or  re- 
views of  books.  The  National  Industrial 
Conference  Board,  for  example,  issues  an  an- 
nual book  review  of  the  more  significant 
hterature  on  industrial  economics  prepared 
by  its  librarian.  The  Insurance  Library  As- 
sociation of  Boston  issues  a  qusirteTly  Bulletin 
devoted  to  literature  of  fire  insurance.  The 
librarian  of  the  National  Safety  Council  re- 
views books  in  the  field  of  safety  in  one  of  the 
regular  pubHcations  of  the  Council.  Fur- 
thermore, many  of  the  larger  libraries  issue 
lists  of  additions  to  their  particular  collec- 
tions ;  these  lists  are  frequently  used  by  other 
libraries  as  guides  in  making  purchases.  In 
addition,  many  leading  magazines  of  an  edu- 
cational and  scientific  character  contain  re- 
views of  new  books  by  competent  persons; 
these  reviews  are  most  useful  aids  in  deciding 
what  to  buy. 

27 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

The  selection  of  books  is  of  little  avail  if 
proper  methods  in  ordering  and  subsequent 
care  are  not  pursued.  In  many  libraries  an 
order-record,  noting  outstanding  orders,  and 
an  accession-record,  noting  chronologically 
books  in  order  of  receipt,  are  kept.  The 
accession-record  gives  the  complete  record  of 
a  book  from  the  time  of  its  receipt  in  the 
library  to  the  time  of  its  withdrawal;  such 
a  record  gives  also  the  number  of  volumes  in 
any  library. 

In  order  that  the  use  of  books  may  be 
facilitated,  they  must  be  grouped  in  some 
systematic  manner.  Such  classification  is 
best  accomplished  by  bringing  books  on  the 
same  or  similar  subjects  together.  Were 
books  arranged  simply  in  accordance  with 
their  order  of  accession  or  receipt,  there 
would  be  no  definite  relation  among  them. 
To  use  them  would  require  scanning  every 
shelf.  To  separate  books,  papers  or  other 
library  materials,  such  as  pamphlets,  news- 
paper clippings,  manuscripts  or  maps, 
according  to  their  likeness  or  unlikeness,  is 
obviously  to  take  the  first  step  to  ease  and 

28 


TKAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

speed  in  use.  Classification  according  to 
color,  size,  author,  date  of  publication,  name 
of  publishers,  language,  etc.,  is  possible,  but 
since  most  persons  are  interested  in  the  sub- 
ject of  a  book,  classification  by  subject  is 
most  frequently  met  with  in  libraries.  Sev- 
eral standard  schemes  of  classification  which 
have  been  widely  employed  in  Hbraries  now 
exist.  Among  these  the  Dewey  Decimal,  the 
Library  of  Congress,  the  Expansive  and  the 
Adjustable  classifications  may  be  mentioned. 
The  last-named  is  to  be  found  mainly  in 
Enghsh  libraries.  The  Dewey  Decimal  clas- 
sification, prepared  by  Melvil  Dewey,  has 
been  adopted  in  over  half  of  the  libraries  of 
the  United  States.  It  divides  all  knowledge 
into  ten  broad  classes,  each  class  being  sub- 
divided into  ten  subclasses,  and  so  on.  This 
principle  of  subdivision  by  tens  gives  the 
classification  its  name.  Many  variations  of 
these  standard  classification  schemes  exist. 

Satisfactory  as  are  these  standard  schemes 
when  applied  to  general  collections,  they  are 
not  as  completely  satisfactory  when  applied 
to  special  collections.    The  scope  here  is  con- 

29 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

siderably  limited  and  the  interest  more  inten- 
sive. Consequently  in  many  special  libraries 
classification  schemes  suited  to  the  particular 
collections  are  used.  Thorough  famih- 
arity  with  the  field  to  be  covered  and  a 
knowledge  of  the  inter-relations  of  the  sub- 
jects involved  are  absolutely  essential  in 
the  making  of  any  classification.  In  any 
scheme  of  classification,  logical  order  of 
arrangement  is  required.  The  division  into 
groups  or  classes  must  be  scientific;  there 
must  be  a  definite  relation  between  one  sec- 
tion or  topic  and  another  and  between  each 
and  the  whole. 

A  good  classification  should  be  clear, 
definite,  logical  and  sufficiently  minute  to 
meet  the  library's  needs.  It  should  have  a 
system  of  notation  for  indicating  classes  and 
subclasses  that  provides  for  indefinite  sub- 
division. It  should  be  so  arranged  that  under 
each  main  group  or  class,  divisions  are 
arranged  in  descending  order  of  importance. 
While  subjects  and  parts  of  subjects  may  be 
closely  correlated,  the  aim  of  any  classifica- 
tion is  to  bring  like  material  together ;  diffu- 
se 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

sion  and  duplication  have  no  place  in 
scientific  classification.  Furthermore,  a 
classification  to  be  usable  requires  an 
adequate  index. 

After  a  book  has  been  classified,  the  next 
step  is  that  of  assigning  a  book  mark  to  it; 
this  book  mark  determines  the  place  and 
order  of  the  volume  on  the  shelves.  It  con- 
sists of  two  parts,  one  to  denote  the  classifi- 
cation of  the  book,  the  other  to  indicate  its 
order  on  the  shelves.  This  book  mark  serves 
as  a  means  of  identifying  the  book  when 
wanted  by  any  reader  calling  for  it  It  is 
also  referred  to  as  the  "  call  number." 

The  catalog  is  perhaps  the  most  important 
working  tool  in  the  library.  Upon  it  depends 
in  large  measure  the  ease  with  which  the 
library  is  used.  A  good  catalog  may  cover 
faults  in  classification  and  in  other  directions 
and  a  bad  catalog,  conversely,  may  undo  all 
the  good  work  which  has  been  done  in  other 
directions.  A  catalog  is  a  list  of  books, 
magazines,  pamphlets  and  other  material  in 
the  library.  Such  a  list  may  be  written,  type- 
written or  printed,  on  single  cards  or  in  a 

31 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

bound  volume.  It  may  contain  under  each 
entry  merely  the  name  of  the  author  and 
title,  or  it  may  contain  descriptive  matter 
such  as  the  number  of  pages,  size  of  item, 
name  of  the  publisher,  date  and  place  of  im- 
print, or  notes  descriptive  of  the  content  or 
critically  appraising  the  value  of  the  book. 
The  card  catalog  is  to-day  almost  universally 
employed,  the  cards  being  arranged  in 
drawers  alphabetically  from  front  to  back 
and  the  drawers  being  labeled  on  the  outside 
to  indicate  between  what  words  or  letters 
their  contents  run.  The  cards  in  the  catalog 
are  intended  as  a  rule,  to  answer  three  types 
of  questions :  What  book  or  books  by  a  given 
author  are  there  in  the  hbrary?  Who  is  the 
author  of  a  given  title?  What  books  on  a 
given  subject  are  there  in  the  library? 

Thi-ee  types  of  catalogs  may  be  employed 
— the  accession-record  which  is  a  chronologi- 
cal list  of  volumes  in  order  of  addition,  the 
shelf  list  which  is  a  record  of  the  books  in 
the  order  in  which  they  stand  on  the  shelves 
and  the  catalog  in  which  the  volumes  are 
generally  listed  alphabetically  as  in  a  diction- 

32 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

ary  by  author,  subject  and  title.  The  first 
two,  the  accession  list  and  the  shelf  list  where 
used,  are  mainly  to  aid  the  library  assistants ; 
the  third,  the  catalog  proper,  is  the  one  with 
which  the  public  comes  most  commonly 
in  contact. 

Inasmuch  as  the  catalog  is  an  index  of  the 
contents  of  the  library,  either  on  any  subject 
or  on  all  subjects,  it  is  important  that  it  be 
complete,  accessible  and  easy  to  use. 

In  the  preparation  of  any  catalog  a  certain 
amount  of  foresight  must  be  used,  since  ob- 
viously it  is  being  prepared  for  the  use  of 
a  large  body  of  persons  who  may  have  re- 
course to  the  library  but  who  themselves  have 
no  knowledge  of  library  technic.  The 
ability  to  visualize  the  work  from  another's 
standpoint,  to  put  oneself  in  another's  place, 
thus  comes  to  be  essential.  A  good  cataloger 
will  not  only  be  able  to  see  her  work  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  general  public,  but  also 
from  that  of  the  other  library  assistants  who 
are  required  to  use  the  catalog.  A  sympa- 
thetic understanding  of  others  and  an  inti- 
mate knowledge  of  her  craft  are  the  prime 

3  33 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

needs  of  the  cataloger.  The  catalog  is  the 
key  to  the  resources  of  the  hbrary ;  hence,  she 
who  is  charged  with  its  making  should  under- 
stand the  mechanics  of  hbrarianship  without 
having  a  mind  that  is  narrowly  mechanical. 
Accuracy  is  another  fundamental  require- 
ment; a  slipshod  and  careless  person  should 
not  undertake  the  work.  Wide  general  in- 
formation and  familiarity  with  languages  are 
invaluable  assets. 

The  material  having  been  secured,  classi- 
fied and  cataloged,  the  next  task  is  to  see 
that  it  is  used.  This  phase  of  the  work  falls 
under  the  head  of  reference  work  and  circu- 
lation work;  in  large  libraries  each  forms  a 
major  part  of  the  activities  pursued  and  each 
is  regarded  as  an  important  department. 

A  necessary  part  of  the  work  of  any  library 
is  to  be  able  to  advise  where  information  on 
a  given  subject  can  be  found.  This  branch 
of  administration  concerned  with  assisting 
readers  to  use  the  resom-ces  of  the  library  is 
called  reference  work.  It  is  the  duty  of  the 
reference  librarian  to  aid  readers  in  their 
search  for  information,  to  bring  book  and 

34 


TJie  pnnted  page  carries  its  message  just  as  effectively  whether  it  be  housed  in  the  home 

or  the  millionaire  and  bound  in  expensive  leathers  or  whether  it  be  kept  in  a  crude 

wooden  case  by  the  work-bench. 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

reader  together,  to  prepare  special  reading 
lists  or  bibliogi-aphies  on  topics  of  interest 
and  in  general  to  develop  the  use  of  the 
library  resources  within  the  building  just  as 
the  circulation  department  is  concerned  with 
the  same  function  outside  the  building. 
"  The  right  book  to  the  right  person  at  the 
right  time  "  must  be  the  ideal.  Good  edu- 
cation, wide  reading,  intensive  familiarity 
with  printed  materials,  a  good  memory  and 
facility  in  the  use  of  reference  books  and 
indexes  of  various  kinds  is  essential.  Added 
to  this  an  innate  sense  of  courtesy  and  a  desire 
to  be  of  help  to  those  who  use  the  library 
are  required. 

The  head  of  the  circulation  department 
should  hkewise  have  an  intimate  understand- 
ing of  people  and  of  books.  Inasmuch  as  she 
and  her  assistants  stand  most  directly  be- 
tween the  books  and  those  who  will  use  them, 
their  duty  above  all  else  is  to  bring  both 
books  and  readers  together;  statistics  of  cir- 
culation should  thus  be  looked  upon  as  spe- 
cific instances  of  service  rather  than  as  indi- 
cations of  mere  turnover  of  books.    The  head 

35 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

of  the  circulation  department  is  actually  in 
charge  of  one  of  the  strategic  branches  of  the 
library  service.  Hence  her  aim  should  be  to 
infuse  in  every  assistant  a  desire  to  be  helpful 
and  to  increase  the  use  of  the  library.  By 
direction  and  by  example  she  should  instil 
high  standards  of  treatment  of  the  pubhc; 
beyond  this  she  should  inspire  in  her  assist- 
ants not  only  a  willingness  to  learn  but  also 
to  serve  those  for  whom  the  library  exists. 
Since  the  circulation  and  reference  depart- 
ments are  most  closely  in  contact  with  the 
public  and  are  in  greatest  degree  responsible 
for  the  opinion  which  users  of  the  library 
form  of  it,  personality  and  knowledge  should 
be,  and  generally  are,  dominant  considera- 
tions in  appointments  in  these  departments. 
The  ability  to  delegate  authority,  to  direct 
others,  to  teach  them  to  be  helpful,  while  set- 
ting an  example  in  helpfuhiess,  are  desirable 
characteristics  in  any  department  head. 
Since  circulation  work  involves  the  issue  of 
books  for  use  outside  the  building,  some  rec- 
ord must  be  kept  to  indicate  in  whose  posses- 
sion any  given  book  outside  the  Ubrary  is. 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

Such  systems  of  record-keeping  are  called 
charging  systems ;  two  standard  systems,  the 
Browne  and  the  Newark  are  widely  used. 
Various  modifications  of  these  exist.  Ac- 
curacy is,  of  course,  the  prime  need  in  cir- 
culation record-keeping.  J 

Added  to  what  has  already  been  said,  the 
modern  librarian  must  know  something  of 
the  proper  care  of  books.  To  secure  the 
maximum  use  of  a  book  is  as  much  an  art  as 
aiding  in  its  widest  usefulness.  To  prolong 
the  life  of  a  book  it  must  be  properly  handled 
and  also  properly  bound.  In  addition  to 
rough  usage  certain  avoidable  conditions, 
such  as  those  due  to  gas  fumes,  dust,  exces- 
sive moisture  or  dry  heat,  are  injurious  to 
books.  Modern  leather  bindings,  for  exam- 
ple, are  known  to  dry  out,  crack  and  decay 
more  rapidly  when  left  on  the  shelves  un- 
touched, than  when  subjected  to  everyday 
usage.  While  actual  binding  may  be  left  to  a 
special  library  department  or  may  be  turned 
over  to  a  competent  person  outside  the 
library,  a  more  or  less  intimate  knowledge  of 

37 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

the  essentials  of  good  binding  should  be  pos- 
sessed by  the  librarian. 

The  care  of  the  shelves,  like  the  care  of 
books,  presents  an  important  problem.  In 
large  libraries  the  shelf  department  is  charged 
with  supervision  of  the  shelves ;  in  small  libra- 
i^ies  this  work  of  necessity  devolves  on  the 
Hbrarian  and  the  inmiediate  assistants.  The 
task  here  is  to  see  that  books  are  in  their 
proper  place  on  the  shelves  to  be  available 
when  wanted,  to  obtain  them  on  demand  and 
replace  them  when  no  longer  in  use,  to  take 
the  annual  or  other  inventory  of  the  books 
in  the  library,  and  to  see  that  the  books 
and  shelves  are  properly  labeled  and  free 
from  dust. 

Other  duties  such  as  those  relating  to  the 
proper  planning  and  care  of  Mbrary  buildings 
and  the  more  detailed  management  of  a 
Ubrary,  important  as  they  are  in  the  equip- 
ment and  training  of  the  librarian,  need  not 
be  touched  upon  here.  They  are  covered  in 
general  in  the  manuals  of  library  economy 
and  are  made  subjects  of  study  in  the 
library  schools. 

38 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

In  the  organization  of  a  library,  whether 
pubhc,  industrial  or  other,  the  obvious  first 
step  is  the  selection  of  a  hbrarian.  Without 
an  executive  head  no  library  can  function 
properly;  indeed,  good  management  in  any 
library,  as  in  any  business,  is  more  important 
then  perfect  equipment.  A  proper  expendi- 
ture of  money  may  easily  enable  the  dupli- 
cation of  machinery,  tools,  fm^niture  and 
books,  but  money  alone  can  never  build  up 
a  spirit  of  teamwork,  or  loyalty  to  those 
in  charge. 

It  is  common  in  most  public  and  in  many 
special  libraries  to  have  either  a  board  of 
trustees  or  a  hbrary  committee  as  an  advisory 
or  supervisory  body.  The  position  of  the 
trustee  corresponds  in  many  respects  to  that 
of  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of  a 
business  concern.  Small  boards  and  com- 
mittees are  generally  regarded  as  best,  but 
in  public  libraries,  particularly  in  the  larger 
cities,  large  boards  make  possible  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  different  elements,  sections 
or  races  in  the  community  and  thereby  f  aciU- 
tate  the  selection  of  a  well-balanced  body. 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

Terms  of  office  vary,  the  usual  practice  being 
to  divide  the  board  of  trustees  into  groups, 
and  retiring  one  group,  or  a  specified  number 
of  members,  each  year.  In  general,  the  terms 
of  office  are  so  arranged  as  to  secure  stabil- 
ity without  stagnation. 

The  duties  of  trustees  are  to  raise  and  man- 
age the  fimds  of  the  library,  to  invest  these 
properly,  to  supervise  expenditures,  to  deter- 
mine the  broad  policy  of  the  library,  its  rela- 
tionship to  those  whom  it  serves  as  well  as  its 
administrative  policy  as  regards  employees, 
to  super^dse  broadly  the  choice  and  purchase 
of  books,  to  study  the  work  of  other  Ubraries 
with  a  view  to  modifying,  correcting  and  im- 
proving the  work  of  their  own  library,  to 
select  the  librarian  and  aid  him  in  every  man- 
ner in  the  performance  of  his  duties.  They 
should  give  the  librarian  the  benefit  of  their 
business  experience  in  organizing  his  staff 
and  in  sohdng  any  major  problems  that  may 
be  presented  to  them ;  they  should  make  the 
community  feel  that  the  administration  is 
good  and  that  the  library  is  managed  for  the 
benefit  of  those  for  whom  it  is  established. 

40 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

Obviously  the  trustees  are  responsible  for 
the  administrative  policy  of  the  library,  the 
librarian  being  their  executive  agent  to  carry 
out  their  wishes  thoroughly,  cheerfully  and 
promptly.  If  they  have  a  trained  and  ex- 
perienced librarian,  who  is  tactful,  energetic 
and  possessed  of  executive  ability,  they  will 
do  well  to  leave  the  management  of  the 
library  to  him  and  aid  him  only  in  so  far  as 
this  will  lighten  his  work.  If  the  librarian 
is  a  failure,  their  obvious  duty  is  to  select  a 
more  competent  person. 

A  library  trustee  should  be  of  sound  char- 
acter, possessed  of  good  judgment  and  com- 
mon sense,  public  spirited  and  with  a  capacity 
for  work.  He  should  represent  fairly  the 
best  in  the  community.  Good  literary  taste^ 
is  helpful,  but  inasmuch  as  the  trustee's  func- 
tion is  mainly  administrative,  the  qualifica- 
tions that  make  for  a  successful  administrator 
must  determine  his  fitness  and  selection. 

Upon  the  board  of  trustees  and  upon  the 
library  committee  rests  the  responsibility  of 
seeing  that  the  library  is  a  paying  business, 
that  its  influence  and  service  is  wide  and  as 

41 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

thorough  as  circumstances  will  permit.  The 
competent  person  will  naturally  not  regard 
his  office  as  a  sinecure.  While  the  trustee 
should  not,  on  the  one  hand,  be  regarded  as  a 
figurehead,  he  should  not  on  the  other  act 
as  a  dictator  in  library  pohcy.  Teamwork 
should  rather  be  the  aim,  with  the  librarian 
regarded  as  the  manager  or  executive  officer 
and  the  board  of  trustees  as  the  ultimate 
court  of  appeal. 

No  matter  how  good  a  collection  of  books, 
how  beautifully  it  is  housed  or  how  plentiful 
the  funds  for  its  maintenance,  all  is  of  little 
avail  if  the  right  persons  are  not  chosen  and 
if  the  proper  spirit  does  not  prevail.  Boards 
of  trustees  and  city  councillors  are  at  times 
prone  to  accept  appearances  for  realities,  but 
while  the  librarian  may  fool  a  trustee  or  a 
board  of  trustees,  a  city  official  or  a  group  of 
officials,  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  librarian 
fools  for  any  extended  period  a  large  part  of 
the  public  or  of  his  assistants.  When  libra- 
rians comment  on  the  apathy  of  the  pubhc 
in  their  city  as  regards  the  library,  or  where  a 
business  librarian  blames  department  heads 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

or  office  employees  for  their  apparent  un- 
willingness to  use  the  hbrary,  the  fault  is  as 
often  with  the  librarian  as  it  is  with  those 
outside.  The  sole  justification  for  any 
library  is  its  use.  A  few  books  in  the  hands 
of  an  intelligent  assistant  are  far  better  than 
a  large  collection  poorly  handled. 

Different  positions  entail  different  qualifi- 
cations, but  in  every  instance  the  responsibil- 
ity rests  with  the  librarian  of  seeing  that  each 
employee  is  placed  in  the  position  for  which 
he  is  best  quahfied,  that  the  person  must  be 
made  to  fit  the  job  and  not  the  job  the  person. 
Every  library  should  aim  within  reasonable 
limits  to  provide  its  staff  with  every  oppor- 
tunity for  self-improvement.  In  many  libra- 
ries lectures  for  the  staff  and  study  classes  are 
in  vogue. 
f  Hitherto  but  slight  attention  has  been 
given  to  the  human  side  of  library  adminis- 
tration. Yet  the  rapid  growth  of  libraries 
with  their  increasing  personnel  points  clearly 
to  the  fact  that  librarians  will  have  to  give 
increasing  thought  to  their  labor  problem. 
The  fact  that  trade  unions  among  hbrary 

43 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

workers  have  been  formed  in  such  cities  as 
New  York,  Baltimore  and  Boston,  is  direct 
evidence  that  the  situation  demands  atten- 
tion. Labor  turnover  has  in  many  libraries 
been  excessively  high  and  has  resulted  in 
much  economic  loss ;  practically  no  attention 
has  been  paid  to  this  phase.  Librarians  of 
the  past  have  been  so  absorbed  in  the  techni- 
cal problems  of  management  and  in  making 
the  library  a  living,  vital  force  in  the  com- 
munity, that  the  human  engineering  problem 
arising  out  of  the  employment  relation  has 
of  necessity  come  in  for  only  secondary  con- 
sideration. Certainly  in  the  larger  libraries 
this  situation  is  rapidly  changing,  but  it  is 
evident  that  librarians,  like  other  managers, 
must  study  and  train  themselves  for  handling 
the  problems  of  employment. 


44 


CHAPTER  III 

The  Public  Library 

Twenty  thousand  public  libraries  are  to 
be  found  in  the  United  States.  Not  a  state 
exists  that  does  not  have  its  quota  of  them. 
In  Massachusetts,  for  example,  every  town, 
except  one,  has  a  public  library;  the  solitary 
exception  joins  with  another  town  in  sup- 
porting a  library  which  its  residents  may  use. 
In  some  states  the  public  library  has  been 
comparatively  less  developed,  but  the  efforts 
of  the  state  library  commissions  and  the 
various  library  associations,  and  educational 
authorities  promise  an  unusual  development 
in  the  number  of  libraries  in  the  next 
few  years. 

The  public  library  is  everywhere  recog- 
nized to-day  as  having  a  place  side  by  side 
with  the  school.  It  has  been  called  "  the 
people's  university ;  "  it  is  also  being  recog- 
nized as  a  most  effective  agency  in  training 
for  democracy. 

45 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

National  welfare  rests  on  an  intelligent 
citizenship.  Those  countries  whose  people 
are  best  educated  are  not  only  the  most  pros- 
perous but  the  best  governed.  In  the  United 
States  attendance  at  some  school  is  obligatory 
during  minority.  Each  future  citizen  may 
thus  learn  at  least  to  read  and  write.  In 
addition  many  cities  maintain  schools  for 
older  persons  in  which  attendance  is  optional. 
In  this  way  each  potential  citizen  is  given  the 
opportunity  of  an  education,  and  of  laying 
the  foundation  for  self-development  and  for 
becoming  a  useful  member  of  the  community. 

-Yet,  every  year,  about  a  million  fourteen- 
year-old  children  leave  school,  having  com- 
pleted no  more  than  the  fifth  or  sixth  grade. 
In  addition,  the  large  number  of  foreign-born 
in  the  United  States  creates  a  problem  which 
must  be  met.  The  tendency  is  therefore  to  go 
beyond  the  mere  estabhshment  of  schools  and 
to  create  at  public  expense  a  means  for  adult 
self-education.  This  means  is  the  public 
library.  In  it  are  to  be  found  collections 
of  books  and  other  printed  materials  available 

46 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

without  charge  to  the  pubhc  for  reference  or 
for  home  reading.  The  public  library  is  thus 
an  essential  part  of  a  broad  educational  sys- 
tem and  a  preparatory  school  for  service  to 
and  efficient  living  within  the  state.  A  com- 
munity without  a  good  public  library  is  an 
indication  of  lack  of  civic  consciousness  and 
pride.  It  is  as  disparaging  as  being  without 
a  good  public  school.  The  lack  of  either  is 
not  conducive  to  high  civic  idealism. 

Between  the  school  and  the  library  as  edu- 
cational forces  there  is  a  definite  distinction. 
In  the  school,  study  is  pursued  more  or  less 
under  the  will  and  guidance  of  the  teacher. 
Reading  is  done  as  an  assignment.  Author- 
ity looms  large  in  the  public  school.  In  the 
pubhc  library,  on  the  other  hand,  study  and 
reading  are  carried  on  voluntarily,  and, 
whether  for  pleasure  or  for  profit,  the  motive 
emanates  from  the  individual  and  not  from 
any  outside  force.  It  is  apparent  that  such 
reading  and  study  have  a  more  definite  in- 
fluence on  character  and  ideals.  But  volun- 
tary reading  may  not  result  in  the  wisest 
selection  of  material,  hence  the  need  in  the 

47 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

public  library  of  competent  direction  in  the 
choice  and  use  of  literature. 

The  influence  of  good  books  cannot  be 
overestimated.  "A  good  book  is  the 
precious  hfe-blood  of  a  master  spirit,  em- 
balmed and  treasured  up  on  purpose  to  a  life 
beyond  life,"  said  Milton,  and  Carlyle 
pointed  out  truly  enough  that  "All  that 
mankind  has  done,  thought,  gained  or  been, 
— it  is  lying  as  in  magic  preservation  in  the 
pages  of  books."  Yet  everyone  familiar 
with  books  knows  with  Emerson  that "  Books 
are  the  best  of  things  well  used;  abused, 
among  the  worst,"  and  with  Thoreau: 
"  Books  that  are  books  are  all  that  you 
want,  and  there  are  but  half  a  dozen  in 
any  thousand." 

A  leaflet  issued  by  the  Davenport  (Iowa) 
Pubhc  Library  entitled,  "  I  Am  the  Public 
Library,"  thus  summarizes  what  the  public 
library  is  and  stands  for : 

"  I  am  the  storehouse  of  knowledge  in  this 
city. 

"  I  am  opportunity. 

48 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

"  I  am  the  continuation  school  for  all. 

"  I  hold  within  myself  the  desires,  hopes, 
theories,  philosophies,  impressions,  doctrines, 
culture,  attainments,  experience,  and  science 
of  all  ages. 

"I  am  a  house  of  wisdom  and  an  institution 
of  happiness. 

''  I  am  supported  by  the  people  for  the 
people. 

"  I  offer  the  opportunity  to  know  all  there 
is  to  know  about  your  work. 

"  I  am  for  those  who  would  enjoy  fiction, 
poetry,  philosophy,  biography,  or  learn  more 
about  business,  trade  and  science. 

"  I  have  books  for  all  tastes  and  needs 
and  creeds. 

"  I  am  free  to  the  public  to  profit  from 
and  enjoy. 

"  I  am  in  the  care  of  courteous  attendants, 
whose  duty  is  to  help  you  to  profit  from  me. 

"  I  open  my  doors  as  great  pubhc  mental 
recreation  ground  for  your  leisure  hours." 

The  public  library  serves  a  most  useful 
function  in  collecting,  housing  and  making 

4  49 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

available  for  use  wholesome,  useful  litera- 
ture. It  supplies  the  community  with  a  place 
for  mental  recreation  very  much  as  the  public 
parks  and  playgrounds  of  the  city  supply  a 
place  for  physical  recreation.  To  the  great 
masses  of  people  the  public  library  offers 
always  a  ready  welcome  and  an  opportunity 
to  escape  from  their  daily  tedium  into  a 
world  of  romance  and  adventure,  which, 
though  it  be  unreal  and  temporary,  yet  sup- 
pHes  that  pleasm^e  and  mental  exhilaration 
which  the  individual  craves.  It  aims  to  sup- 
ply reading  matter  and,  through  wise  selec- 
tion of  books  and  personal  guidance,  to 
develop  a  taste  for  good  literature.  In  1918 
the  public  libraries  of  the  United  States 
circulated  over  200,000,000  books  for  home 
reading.  The  New  York  (City)  Public 
Library  in  1918,  through  its  various  branches, 
loaned  over  10,700,000  books,  the  Boston 
Public  Library  over  2,000,000.  The  public 
libraries  of  the  state  of  Massachusetts  com- 
bined circulated  for  home  use  in  1918  over 
15,000,000  volumes. 

All  this  must  indicate  that  the   public 

50 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

library  exercises  no  smaU  influence.  The 
Special  Report  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Edu- 
cation on  "  Public  Libraries  in  the  United 
States  "  prepared  in  1876  stated  that  "  The 
influence  of  the  librarian  as  an  educator  is 
rarely  estimated  by  outside  observers,  and 
probably  seldom  fully  realized  even  by  him- 
self. Performing  his  duties  independently  of 
direct  control  as  to  their  details,  usually 
selecting  the  books  that  are  to  be  pm^chased 
by  the  library  and  read  by  its  patrons,  often 
advising  individual  readers  as  to  a  proper 
course  of  reading  and  placing  in  their  hands 
the  books  they  are  to  read,  and  pursuing  his 
own  methods  of  administration  generally 
without  reference,  to  those  in  use  elsewhere, 
the  hbrarian  has  silently,  almost  uncon- 
sciously, gained  ascendancy  over  the  habits 
of  thought  and  literary  tastes  of  a  multitude 
of  readers,  who  find  in  the  public  hbrary 
their  only  means  of  intellectual  improvement. 
That  educators  should  be  able  to  know  the 
direction  and  gauge  the  extent  and  results  of 
this  potential  influence,  and  that  librarians 
should  not  only  understand  their  primary 

51 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

duties  as  purveyors  of  literary  supplies  to  the 
people,  but  also  realize  their  high  privileges 
and  responsibilities  as  teachers,  are  mat- 
ters of  great  import  to  the  interests  of 
public  education." 

To-day  librarians  are  not  only  studying 
their  administrative  problems  together  and 
profiting  by  each  other's  experiments,  but 
are  working  hand  in  hand  with  educators 
and  others  studying  how  still  better  to  serve 
the  community. 


CHAPTER  IV 

The  Social  and  Special  Work  of  the 
Public  Library 

As  the  work  of  the  public  librarian  of  the 
past  consisted  mainly  in  the  collection  and 
housing  of  books  and  kindred  material,  so  the 
librarian  of  to-day  is  concerned  mainly  with 
the  use  of  his  collections.  Inasmuch  as  no 
library,  whether  pubUc  or  private,  can 
expect  to  gather  and  preserve  the  vast 
amount  of  material  that  exists  or  that  pours 
from  the  printing  presses  continually,  the 
public  library  aims  to  get  only  that  part 
which  has  the  potentiality  of  use. 

It  is  this  emphasis  on  collections  for  use 
as  against  the  old  idea  of  collecting  for  the 
sake  of  mere  numbers  and  building  up  a  vast 
repository  that  is  the  distinguishing  feature 
of  modem  librarianship.  But  the  public 
library  has  not  only  gathered  material  in 
print  and  made  it  available  without  charge 
for  use  in  pleasant  rooms  and  buildings, 

53 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

or  for  home  borrowing  with  a  minimum 
of  restriction.  It  has  gone  fm-ther  and 
through  advertising  in  newspapers,  street 
ears  and  hotels,  through  publication  of  attrac- 
tive reading  lists,  display  of  new  books  or 
books  of  special  interest,  and  through 
planned  publicity  campaigns  of  various  kinds 
has  sought  to  interest  its  public,  inviting  it  to 
come,  to  see  and  to  read.  Tliis  aggressive 
effort  to  bring  book  and  reader  together  has 
been  characteristic  of  the  American  pubhc 
hbrary  as  of  no  other. 

Long  ago  Justin  Winsor  pointed  out  that 
"  Books  may  be  accumulated  and  guarded, 
and  the  result  is  sometimes  called  a  library; 
but  if  books  are  made  to  help  and  spur  men 
on  in  their  own  daily  work,  the  library  be- 
comes a  vital  influence;  the  prison  is  turned 
into  a  workshop." 

The  public  library  has  not,  however,  been 
satisfied  with  serving  simply  as  a  reading 
center.  It  has  recognized  its  opportunity  as 
a  community  information  service  station 
and  has  taken  its  place  side  by  side  with  other 
social  service  agencies  with  the  sole  thought 

54 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

and  aim  of  serving  those  whom  it  could.  Its 
service  has  not  been  solely  disinterested; 
always  its  thought  has  been  to  make  its  collec- 
tions a  living,  vital  force  in  the  city  or  dis- 
trict, and  to  see  that  the  information  which  it 
has  gathered  and  made  available  for  use 
gets  into  the  hands  of  those  to  whom  it  can 
be  useful. 

In  certain  cities,  particularly  in  the  South, 
where  the  negroes  form  a  large  part  of  the 
population,  special  service  for  them  is  main- 
tained. Where  there  is  a  negro  quarter,  the 
public  library  has  at  times  established 
branches  easily  accessible  for  the  exclusive  use 
of  colored  persons.  Sometimes  these  branches 
have  been  in  charge  of  a  colored  staff  and  the 
work  carried  on  is  such  as  to  appeal  to  the 
negro  and  to  aid  in  his  economic  advance- 
ment. Illiteracy  has  been  the  great  handicap 
under  which  the  negro  has  labored ;  therefore 
one  of  the  aims  is  to  teach  him  to  read  and 
to  write.  Classes  in  the  library  have  been 
instituted,  and  thus  under  the  most  favorable 
circumstances  has  he  been  introduced  to 
books  and  their  use. 

55 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

In  many  places  the  negro  has  been  a  social 
outcast.  Opportunities  for  meeting  together 
and  for  self -education  and  improvement  have 
not  been  as  freely  available  to  him  as  to  his 
white  neighbor.  Reahzing  this  and  also  the 
fact  that  its  building  offers  an  excellent  meet- 
ing place  for  the  negro  as  for  the  white  per- 
son, the  pubhc  library  has  in  some  places 
organized  clubs  for  both  young  and  old. 
These  clubs  serve  many  purposes.  They 
satisfy  a  social  instinct  and  at  the  same  time 
keep  the  young  off  the  streets.  They  offer  a 
means  for  learning  the  lessons  of  self-govern- 
ment, thus  acting  in  effect  as  a  training  school 
for  service  in  a  democratic  society.  They  help 
those  who  are  members  to  learn  how  to  ex- 
press themselves.  Clear  expression  comes 
only  from  clear  thinking.  In  addition  to 
these  social  and  educational  purposes,  such 
clubs  serve  an  even  more  concrete  use.  Their 
proceedings  supply  an  informational  back- 
ground which  is  reflected  in  better  economic 
functioning.  Society  pays  for  knowledge 
irrespective  of  the  source  from  which  it  has 
been  obtained,  and  they  that  know  are  there- 

56 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

by  aided  in  their  efforts  to  earn  a  livelihood. 

Frequently,  too,  such  branches  for  the 
colored  offer  a  means  for  public  lectures  and 
meetings.  In  various  other  ways  the  public 
library,  unobtrusively  and  at  times  quite  un- 
consciously, makes  of  itself  a  constructive 
social  factor  in  the  negro  community.  Thus 
it  serves  not  only  a  definite  need  and  purpose, 
helping  in  the  solution  of  what  in  some  sec- 
tions of  the  country  is  a  problem,  but  in  the 
eyes  of  the  negro  comes  to  be  regarded  as  a 
living  force  training  him  for  useful  living 
and  efficient  citizenship. 

In  Louisville,  Ky.,  where  the  Free  Public 
Library  maintains  two  branches  for  colored 
readers,  negro  staffs  are  also  employed.  For 
those  who  may  desire  to  prepare  themselves 
for  work  in  these  branches  or  in  colored 
branches  in  other  cities  of  the  South,  an 
apprentice  class  is  conducted  each  year. 

No  less  concrete  has  been  the  service  of  the 
public  library  to  the  immigrant  and  to  the 
foreign-bom.  In  the  larger  cities  special 
collections  in  foreign  languages  have  been  set 
aside  either  in  the  public  library  or  in  branch 

57 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

libraries  most  accessible  to  those  for  whose  use 
the  material  is  intended.  Where  the  foreign- 
born  are  to  be  found  in  smaller  towns  the 
work  has  been  no  less  definite.  Of  the  414 
free  pubhc  libraries  in  Massachusetts,  186, 
or  45  per  cent.,  reported  in  1917  that  they 
were  actively  serving  their  foreign-born 
population.  In  addition  to  supplying  them 
with  literature  in  their  own  language,  the 
pubhc  libraries  also  aid  in  providing  simple 
books  in  Enghsh  for  those  desiring  to  learn 
our  language.  In  some  cases,  as  in  the 
branches  of  the  New  York  Pubhc  Library, 
classes  in  English  are  held  regularly  in  the 
public  library.  The  library  building  is  also 
used  in  many  cases  for  lectures  to  foreigners 
and  for  Americanization  and  other  meetings. 
The  Free  Public  Library  Commission  of 
Massachusetts  reports  that  in  the  year  1918 
"  Library  buildings  have  been  used  for 
Americanization  meetings,  for  food  conser- 
vation meetings  for  the  foreign-speaking,  as 
well  as  for  the  distribution  of  material  in  for- 
eign languages  on  the  Liberty  Loans,  food 
conservation,  legal  advice  for  soldiers  and  on 

58 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

the  influenza  epidemic.  The  libraries  are  the 
logical,  as  well  as  the  acceptable,  places  for 
the  foreign-speaking  people  to  turn  for  infor- 
mation, and  the  majority  of  libraries  in 
Massachusetts  are  equipped  to  realize  their 
expectation."  The  Southbridge,  Mass., 
Public  Library  reports  that  it  is  cooperating 
closely  with  employers  in  Americanization 
work  in  factories.  "  *A  List  of  Books  About 
America,'  was  published  and  distributed 
through  the  factories  and  used  not  only  by 
the  Albanians,  Greeks  and  Poles  but  by  the 
French  Canadians,  many  of  whom  had  lived 
here  for  years  and  taken  no  interest  in  any- 
thing American.  'Now,  they  are  among  the 
most  eager  students  of  the  English  language 
and  American  institutions." 

Recognition  of  the  service  of  the  public 
library  to  the  immigrant  and  alien,  and  real- 
ization of  the  possibilities  of  wider  service 
and  development  in  this  direction,  have  led 
the  American  Library  Association  in  its  En- 
larged Program  to  plan  in  cooperation  with 
schools  and  other  organizations,  through  ex- 
hibits and  the   foreign  language  press  to 

59 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

reach  wherever  possible  all  non-English 
speaking  people  and  educate  them  in  citizen- 
ship and  to  an  appreciation  of  Ameri- 
can ideals. 

"  The  Committee  on  Enlarged  Program 
believes  that  it  is  not  only  the  right,  but  the 
obligation  of  the  Hbrarians  of  this  country  to 
further  develop  this  field  in  an  attempt  to 
secm-e  the  confidence  of  the  millions  of 
strangers  within  our  gates,  by  providing  the 
foreign-born  with  proper  books,  and  by  the 
generous  use  of  foreign  language  publica- 
tions. If  the  books  necessary  to  inspire  the 
American  spirit  and  to  make  for  a  better  citi- 
zenship do  not  already  exist,  the  American 
Library  Association,  through  its  organiza- 
tion, should  encourage  the  translation  and 
publication  of  the  proper  books  in  the  more 
important  languages." 

When  it  is  remembered  that  there  are  in  the 
United  States  16,000,000  foreign-born, 
about  6,000,000  of  whom  neither  read  nor 
write  the  English  language,  it  is  seen 
how  large  is  the  opportunity  for  service 
among  them. 

60 


% 


The  ^/",  ^f'rk  I  iihlif  Library.     This  fine  structure  at  4iiad  St.  and  Fifth  Ave.  houses  a 
part  of  the  hbrary  in  the  largest  city  in  the  country.    Fortunately  the  rural  sections  with- 
out permanent  libraries  are  not  deprived  of  books.    Some  day  this  hamlet  will  have  iU 
own  permanent  structure. 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

No  less  conducive  to  the  common  good  has 
been  the  work  of  the  pubhc  hbrary  with  the 
bhnd.  There  are  in  the  United  States  no 
less  than  75,000  bhnd  persons.  Perhaps  no 
more  unfortunate  gi'oup  exists.  The  work 
of  the  public  libraries  of  the  United  States 
with  the  blind  carries  with  it  a  human  interest 
story  that  can  be  touched  upon  here  in  outline 
only.  It  indicates  the  spirit  of  social  service 
that  is  more  and  more  animating  the  modern 
pubhc  library  and  that  is  finding  expression 
in  various  directions. 

Efforts  to  fuid  a  form  of  raised  print,  the 
characters  of  which  might  be  recognized  by 
touch  of  the  fingers,  covered  several  centuries 
and  proceeded  rather  slowly.  Not  until  about 
the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  were 
satisfactory  types  invented.  The  Moon  type 
was  invented  in  1847,  the  Braille  in  1829,  the 
New  York  Point  in  1868.  Various  improve- 
ments were  made,  but  not  until  1918  were  all 
associations  of  workers  for  the  blind  agreed 
upon  a  standard  point  print,  known  as  Grade 
ly^  Braille.  The  invention  of  a  satisfactory 
print  which  could  be  used  by  the  blind  for 

61 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

their  reading,  led  quite  naturally  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  printing  houses  for  the  blind  and 
the  development  of  a  literature  for  them. 
The  creation  of  a  special  literature  led  the 
public  libraries  to  consider  possibilities  for 
its  dissemination. 

As  early  as  1868  the  Boston  Public 
Library  set  aside  books  in  raised  print  in  a 
separate  division  of  the  library.  Philadel- 
phia followed  suit  in  1882,  and  with  these 
two  cities  as  pioneers,  the  establishment  of 
special  libraries  for  the  bhnd  spread  from 
city  to  city  across  the  continent.  The  larger 
cities  —  Boston,  Worcester,  Providence, 
Hartford,  New  Haven,  New  York,  Brook- 
lyn, Jersey  City,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore, 
Richmond,  Birmingham,  Rochester,  Buffalo, 
Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati,  Cleveland,  Grand 
Rapids,  Detroit,  Chicago,  Milwaukee,  Louis- 
ville, Memphis,  New  Orleans,  St.  Louis, 
Kansas  City,  Seattle,  Spokane,  Portland, 
San  Francisco,  Los  Angeles — all  have  spe- 
cial libraries  and  reading  rooms  for  the  blind. 
The  smaller  cities  have  been  no  less  active; 
among  them  may  be  mentioned  Lynn  and 

62 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

Brookline,  Mass.,  Norwalk,  Conn.,  Auburn, 
X.  Y.,  Plainfield,  N.  J.,  Erie,  Pa.,  Elgin, 
111.,  and  Santa  Monica,  Calif.  Some  of 
these  public  libraries  serve  only  the  blind  in 
their  immediate  communities;  others  send 
books  to  blind  persons  within  the  state.  Some 
make  no  restriction  as  to  territory.  At  the 
Springfield  (Mass.)  Public  Library  weekly 
readings  to  the  blind  by  a  sighted  person  are 
arranged.  At  the  Salt  Lake  City  Public 
Library  such  readings  take  place  two  or  three 
times  a  week.  In  California  the  State 
Library  sends  a  member  of  its  staff  to  the 
homes  of  blind  persons  to  teach  them  to  read. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  oldest  pupil 
in  1918  was  ninety  years  of  age  and  the 
youngest  six. 

Thus  the  public  library  creates  facilities 
within  its  own  building  for  reading  or  else 
sees  that  its  books  for  the  blind  are  brought 
directly  to  the  homes  of  those  whom  they  can 
aid.  So  idleness,  the  greatest  burden  of 
blindness,  is  removed.  Men  who  otherwise 
would  become  physical  wrecks  are  given  new 
hope  and  courage.    "  No  part  of  the  work  of 

63 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

the  State  library  brings  such  quick  and  rich 
results  in  grateful  appreciation  "  is  the  report 
of  the  New  York  State  Department  of  Edu- 
cation. The  work  with  the  blind  is  receiving 
still  further  impetus  from  the  efforts  of  the 
American  Library  Association  which  in  co- 
operation with  other  agencies  is  planning  to 
publish  an  increased  number  of  books  for 
the  blind  in  uniform  type. 

A  word  should  be  said  also  about  the  *'  sun- 
shine "  work  of  the  public  libraries  with  the 
sick,  the  crippled  and  the  disabled.  Books 
and  magazines  are  sent  to  hospitals  and  are 
frequently  distributed  by  a  library  attendant. 
Here  again  the  library  reaches  out  to  the 
reader  where  the  reader  cannot  come  to  it. 

Most  widely  known  is  the  work  of  the  pub- 
lic libraries  with  children.  Children's  rooms 
are  now  to  be  found  in  all  the  larger  libraries. 
A  good  children's  library  will  have  a  supply 
of  readers,  picture  books,  fairy  tales,  travel 
and  nature  books,  histories,  biographies, 
books  of  good  poetry,  as  well  as  editions  of 
literary  masterpieces  edited  for  children. 
Each  of  these  has  a  definite  place — primers 

64 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

and  readers  to  supplement  the  work  of  the 
school,  picture  books  to  appeal  to  the  eye,  to 
set  standards  of  taste  and  fix  values  in  appre- 
ciation, fairy  tales,  travel  and  nature  books 
to  stimulate  the  imagination  and  widen  men- 
tal horizons,  histories  and  biographies  for 
their  influence  on  character,  and  poetry  and 
the  classics  to  give  an  early  acquaintance 
with  the  best  in  literature. 

In  hbrary  work  with  childi'en  the  aim  is  to 
acquaint  them  with  the  better  books,  to  teach 
them  how  to  use  these  intelHgently,  to  de- 
velop a  taste  for  good  reading  and  to  awaken 
ambition  in  the  growing  child.  The  chil- 
dren's librarian  must  have  a  knowledge  of 
and  love  for  children;  she  must  know  chil- 
dren's books  and  be  able  to  discern  with  in- 
telligence those  qualities  in  a  book  which 
make  its  acquisition  desirable.  Some  of  the 
library  schools  give  special  courses  for  those 
desiring  to  prepare  themselves  for  this  work. 

Wherever  they  have  been  instituted  the 
children's  rooms  have  attracted  the  young  of 
the  neighborhood.  The  invariable  comment 
of  librarians  is  that  there  are  not  chairs 

5  65 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

enough  to  meet  the  need.  The  Supervisor 
of  Work  with  Children  of  the  Boston  Public 
Library  in  her  report  for  1919,  states  that 
"  Children  form  the  greater  proportion  of 
readers  in  the  reading  rooms,  and  this  prob- 
ably diminishes  to  a  considerable  degree  the 
use  of  the  rooms  by  adults.  At  one  read- 
ing room,  three-fourths  of  the  readers 
are  children." 

A  feature  of  the  work  with  children  is  the 
story  hour.  "  To  be  a  good  story  teller  is 
to  be  a  king  among  children.'*  Children  have 
a  natural  fondness  for  stories,  and  the  story 
telling  is  used  to  supplement  and  to  lead  to 
good  reading.  For  foreign-born  children, 
stories  in  their  native  language  are  told. 

In  the  sunmier  many  persons  go  off  to  the 
country;  in  the  larger  cities,  as  a  rule,  they 
are  permitted  to  borrow  a  number  of  books 
for  an  extended  period.  Younger  persons 
who  do  not  leave  the  city  in  the  summer  gen- 
erally prefer  the  outdoors,  particularly  the 
playgroimds.  Playground  hbraries  have, 
therefore,  been  established.  Here  again  the 
library  goes  out  to  its  reader.     The  book 

66 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

wagon  of  the  St.  Louis  Public  Library,  for 
example,  is  a  familiar  and  welcome  figure  in 
the  city  playground. 

But  the  library  reaches  into  other  fields. 
In  the  rural,  outlying  districts  where  com- 
munities are  small,  isolated  and  widely  scat- 
tered, no  better  mental  stimulus  than  the 
grocery  store,  the  railway  station  or  the  post 
ofHce  exists.  Aspirations  are  in  consequence 
inclined  to  be  dwarfed,  the  outlook  of  the 
individual  narrow  and  the  lives  of  many  aim- 
less. The  need  of  good  reading  matter  is 
therefore  even  greater  than  in  the  cities.  Yet 
for  one  reason  or  another  in  a  great  many 
of  the  rural  communities,  provision  for  even 
small  collections  of  good  books  has  not  been 
made.  Here,  however,  the  travelling  library 
has  come  in  as  a  Godsend.  A  competent 
critic  has  said  that  "  Nothing  more  encourag- 
ing in  modern  reforms  have  been  witnessed 
than  the  marked  change  already  wrought  by 
this  single  and  comparatively  inexpensive 
agency  in  scores  of  wretched  villages  which 
hitherto  have  been  dead  spots  in  our  Ameri- 
can civilization."     Started  in  New  York  in 

67 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

1893,  the  system  of  travelling  libraries  has 
been  adopted  in  almost  every  state  in  the 
Union.  Such  travelling  libraries  are  collec- 
tions of  books  sent  out  from  the  state  library, 
the  hbrary  commission  or  the  local  public 
library  to  places  where  library  facilities  do 
not  exist. 

In  preparing  a  travelling  library  the  books 
must  be  so  chosen  as  to  have  a  wide  appeal 
and  to  suit  various  tastes.  While  on  the  one 
hand  they  must  be  informative  and  of  edu- 
cational value,  they  should  on  the  other  give 
pleasure.  Above  all,  the  collections  must  be 
such  as  to  stimulate  further  reading.  Where 
those  of  foreign  birth  exist,  books  in  foreign 
languages  must  be  included.  For  the  young 
and  the  old  picture  books  and  magazines  have 
great  attraction.  Books  on  special  subjects 
for  use  by  women's  clubs  and  others,  some- 
times not  only  satisfy  immediate  interest  but 
stimulate  further  demand.  The  travelling 
hbrary  has  sometimes  been  the  means  of 
arousing  sentiment  leading  to  the  establish- 
ment of  a  local  library  open  to  the  public. 

In  localities  where  the  population  is  widely 

68 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

scattered  book  wagons,  in  themselves  minia- 
ture public  libraries,  have  been  fitted  up  and 
sent  out.  Books  may  be  borrowed  from  the 
book  wagons  just  as  they  would  from  the 
public  library.  They,  too,  have  helped  to 
spread  the  spirit  of  modern  Hbrarianship. 

Something  has  already  been  said  of  the  use 
of  the  library  building  for  club  meetings. 
The  following  indicates  the  uses  to  which 
some  of  the  branches  of  the  New  York  Pub- 
lic Library  were  put  during  1915.  The  list 
of  activities  in  all  of  the  branches  is  one  of  the 
best  commentaries  on  the  spirit  of  modern 
public  librarianship. 

Partial  list  of  club  and  other  meetings  held 
in  branches  of  the  New  York  Public  Library 
Circulation  Department,  1915: 

AGUILAR  BRANCH 

Beacon    Lights'    Literary    Club     (Boys). 

Meetings    weekly,     January-May     and 

October-December. 
Civics  Club  for  Gii'ls  (City  History  Club). 

Meetings  weekly,  September-December. 

69 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

Classes  in  English  for  Italian  Girls  under 
auspices  of  Y.W.C.A.  Meetings  semi- 
weekly,  January- June. 

Classes  in.  English  for  Itahan  Men  under 
auspices  of  Y.M.C.A.  Meetings  semi- 
weekly,  January- June. 

Groups  for  the  study  of  Algebra.  Meetings 
semi-weekly,  June. 

Groups  for  study  of  Stenography  (Men). 
Four  meetings  a  week,  June-September. 

Junior  Literary  Club  (Girls).  Meetings 
semi-monthly,  January-May  and  Octo- 
ber-December. 

"  Little  Mothers' "  League.  Meetings 
weekly,  July-September. 

FORT  WASHINGTON  BRANCH 

Drama  Discussion  Club  of  the  Drama 
League.  Meetings  monthly,  January, 
February,  November  and  December, 

Fort  Washington  Chapter  International 
Child  Welfare  League.  Meetings  weekly, 
August-October. 

Washington  Heights  Symphony  Orchestra. 

70 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

Meetings  bi-weekly,  October  19-Novein- 

ber  26. 
Lecture:  "  Patent  Medicine  Frauds,"  April 

10th. 
Reading:  John  Galsworthy's  "  The  Mob," 

April  22nd. 

HUDSON    PARK   BRAJSTCH 

Italian  Class  for  Teachers.  Meetings  weekly, 
January-May  and  October-December. 

Classes  for  Backward  Children.  Three 
meetings  weekly,  January-May  and  Octo- 
ber-December. 

Association  of  Neighborhood  Workers,  Feb- 
ruary 2nd. 

Historical  Exhibition  in  connection  with 
Greenwich  Village  Week,  May  24-31. 

125th  STREET  BRANCH 

Boy    Scouts.    Meetings    Saturday    nights 

throughout  the  year. 
Harlem  Boys'  Library  League.     Meetings 

Friday  nights,  May-September. 
Young    Men's    Business    Club.    Meetings 

Friday  nights  throughout  the  year. 

71 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

Anyone  standing  in  the  doorway  of  any 
of  our  larger  public  libraries  is  impressed  at 
once  with  the  diflPerent  types  of  persons  who 
come  in  and  out  of  its  doors.  There  is  hardly 
an  occupational  activity  which  the  public 
library  does  not  serve.  Where  the  character 
of  the  patronage  is  such  that  intensive  service 
is  advisable,  special  departments  have  been 
created.  Such  departments  as  those  devoted 
to  technology,  science,  economics,  fine  arts, 
government  documents,  patents,  newspapers, 
magazines,  manuscripts,  foreign  languages 
or  civihzations,  etc.,  are  quite  commonly  met 
with  to-day.  These  are  in  charge  of  special 
librarians  trained  for  the  work.  The  special 
departments  are  intended  to  give  to  the 
reader  better  service  which  specialization 
makes  possible.  In  some  cities  branches  to 
serve  business  men  have  been  established;  in 
others  the  hbrary  cooperates  with  indus- 
trial establishments  by  furnishing  books 
for  use  of  employees  or  others,  provided 
the  employer  furnishes  the  quarters  and 
the  librarian. 

Another  feature  of  the  work  of  the  public 

72 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

library  is  its  cooperation  with  civic  and  social 
agencies.  School  hbraries  are  provided  by 
the  public  library  in  many  of  the  cities.  Lists 
of  books  on  various  subjects  are  prepared 
and  distributed  either  through  the  hbrary 
or  through  other  agencies.  Exhibits  are 
frequently  arranged.  The  Syracuse,  N.  Y., 
Public  Library,  for  example,  recently  had 
an  exhibit  on  safety  prepared  in  cooperation 
with  the  National  Safety  Council.  Patriotic 
exhibits,  and  exhibits  to  commemorate  anni- 
versaries and  events  of  importance,  are 
quite  common. 

The  Rahway,  N.  J.,  Public  Library  dis- 
tributes copies  of  ordinances  and  rules  of  city 
departments.  Since  1909  the  city  health 
officer  has  posted  his  milk  reports  in  the 
library.  The  result  is  that  many  women  and 
milkmen  come  in  to  consult  these  reports; 
one  milkman  is  reported  to  have  been  forced 
out  of  business  because  of  the  publicity  that 
was  given  his  unclean  methods.  At  Two 
Harbors,  Minn.,  the  library  is  used  also  as  a 
social  center  for  girls.    Lessons  in  crochet- 

73 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

ing,  art  needlework,  basketry,  weaving  and 
plain  sewing  are  given  in  the  building.  The 
Hibbing,  Minn.,  Public  Library  purchased 
a  phonograph  and  gives  a  concert  every  Sun- 
day afternoon.  The  same  is  done  at  Virginia, 
Minn.,  and  it  is  stated  that  200  persons  come 
to  these  concerts. 

The  Binghamton,  N.  Y.,  Public  Library 
sends  a  personal  letter  to  each  boy  leaving 
school  prior  to  graduation,  inviting  him  to 
use  the  library  and  advising  him  regarding 
the  advantages  of  such  use.  In  Grand 
Rapids,  Mich.,  and  in  Binghamton,  N.  Y., 
vocational  guidance  is  given. 

All  this  indicates  the  varied  service  of  the 
library  to  the  community.  Such  service  can- 
not of  course  be  pursued  in  the  same  manner 
everywhere,  but  the  spirit  of  social  service 
which  animates  the  public  library  is  gaining 
a  continually  stronger  foothold  as  librarians 
and  trustees  are  waking  up  to  the  possibilities 
of  what  can  be  done. 

A  former  president  of  the  American 
Library  Association  said  at  one  of  the  annual 

74 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

meetings:  "Most  professions  are  so  en- 
grossed by  their  own  work  that  they  have 
no  time  to  serve  the  needs  of  others,  but  it  is 
the  business  of  the  librarian  to  serve.  He  is 
paid  for  knowing  how."  In  his  book  entitled 
"The  Modern  City  and  Its  Problems," 
Frederic  C.  Howe  says :  "  The  free  public 
library  is  distinctly  an  American  institution. 
No  country  in  the  world  has  opened  up 
branches  and  democratized  the  use  of  books 
and  reading  rooms  for  circulation  and  re- 
search as  have  we.  Commissions  come  from 
Europe  to  study  our  libraries  just  as  commis- 
sions from  this  country  go  to  England  and 
Germany  to  study  departments  in  which 
these  countries  are  most  advanced.  The  free 
public  library  is  one  of  America's  contribu- 
tions to  municipal  administration."  More 
and  more  there  is  a  growing  realization  that 
the  living  library,  like  the  living  church,  is 
not  built  in  marble,  that,  as  Milton  has  said, 
*'  Books  are  not  dead  things,"  but "  contain  a 
potency  of  life  in  them  to  be  as  active  as  that 
soul  whose  progeny  they  are." 

75 


TRAINING  FOE  LIBRARIANSHIP 

For  those  who  have  a  good  fundamental 
education,  who  have  mastered  the  problems 
of  library  economy,  who  are  imbued  with  the 
spirit  of  service,  and  who  can  bring  practical 
imagination,  enthusiasm  and  high  purpose  to 
the  work,  public  hbrarianship  offers  a  splen- 
did opportunity. 


76 


CHAPTER  V 

Proprietary  and  Subscription  Libraries 

Proprietary  and  subscription  libraries 
differ  from  public  libraries  in  that  their 
ownership  as  well  as  their  use  is  restricted 
to  such  who  are  shareholders  in  the  stock  of 
the  corporation  maintaining  the  Ubrary,  or 
who  pay  a  stated  annual  subscription  fee  for 
the  privilege  of  access  to  and  use  of  the 
library.  Such  libraries,  it  may  be  noted,  ante- 
dated and  in  many  cases  were  the  direct  ante- 
cedents of  free  public  libraries.  With  the 
advent  of  the  free  pubHc  library  most  pro- 
prietary libraries  disappeared  since  they 
could  not  compete  with  them.  Many,  how- 
ever, such  as  the  Boston  Athenseum,  the  Bos- 
ton Library  Society,  the  Mercantile  Library 
in  New  York  still  exist  and  promise  to 
exist  permanently. 

Proprietary  hbraries  are  both  general  and 
special.  Thus  the  Boston  Athenaeum  is  a 
general  library,  with  a  well-balanced  collec- 

77 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

tion  covering  many  fields ;  on  the  other  hand, 
the  Social  Law  Library  in  Boston  is  devoted 
exclusively  to  law  and  legal  topics,  while  the 
Boston  Medical  Library  is  confined  strictly 
to  medicine.  The  distinction  between  pro- 
prietary, subscription  and  other  libraries  is 
mainly  that  of  limitation  of  access  to  share- 
holders or  subscribers  or  to  those  introduced 
by  them. 

In  the  past  the  proprietary  library  has 
dra^vn  its  support  mainly  from  three  groups : 
(a)  those  with  means  who,  in  spite  of  the 
prevalence  of  and  opportunity  of  access  to 
public  libraries,  have  preferred  the  privacy 
and  other  advantages  of  a  library  under  cor- 
porate management;  (b)  those  unable  or 
unwilhng  to  maintain  a  private  hbrary, 
who  have  joined  with  others  in  estab- 
lishing at  their  own  expense  a  library  giving 
them  all  the  advantages  of  a  private  library ; 
and  (c)  those  who,  living  in  sparsely  settled 
districts,  have  joined  with  others  in  forming  a 
library  open  only  to  those  sharing  in  the  ex- 
pense of  maintenance.  During  the  last  cen- 
tury the  last-named  group  was  to  be  found 

78 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

largely  in  the  South  and  in  the  West,  but 
with  the  increase  of  state  library  laws  permit- 
ting the  establishment  and  maintenance  of 
libraries  at  public  expense,  and,  with  the  de- 
velopment also  of  the  work  of  state  library 
commissions,  such  proprietary  libraries  have, 
in  most  cases,  given  way  to  public  libraries. 

The  suggestion  has  sometimes  been  made 
that  the  proprietary  library  has  no  place  in  a 
democratic  community;  such  a  view  is,  how- 
ever, open  to  question.  The  impulses  which 
actuate  persons  of  similar  tastes  or  interests 
to  unite  for  common  purposes  are  deeply 
rooted  in  men  and  in  society,  and  accrue  both 
to  the  advantage  of  the  individual  and  the 
state.  Moreover,  the  advantages  which  such 
libraries  give  to  their  shareholders  and  sub- 
scribers are  such  as  to  ensure  their  contin- 
uance and  warrant  their  further  extension. 

The  ownership  and  use  of  proprietary 
libraries  are,  as  has  been  stated,  restricted  to 
a  limited  clientele.  Efficient  management 
entails  that  the  ownership  be  vested  in  a  cor- 
poration or  stock  company,  and  proprietary 
libraries  are  to  be  found  maintained  in  almost 

T9 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

every  case  by  such  corporations  or  stock  com- 
panies, or  by  clubs  or  associations. 

Their  advantages  are  not  only  that  they 
offer  a  congregating  place  for  those  of  simi- 
lar interests  and  tastes,  but  that  they  are 
enabled  to  extend  services  which  other  hbra- 
ries  for  one  reason  or  another  cannot.  Thus 
they  do  not  rival  the  pubhc  hbraries  in  num- 
ber of  volumes,  yet  on  the  other  hand,  with 
fewer  borrowers  the  opportunity  of  securing 
a  desired  book  for  a  reader  is  greater.  More- 
over, the  smaller  number  to  be  served  enables 
greater  and  more  intensive  service  to  the  indi- 
vidual. It  enables  the  librarian  and  his 
assistants  to  know  and  understand  almost 
every  shareholder  and  subscriber,  their  indi- 
vidual whims  and  interests.  It  makes  pos- 
sible purchasing  books  with  more  definite 
purpose  for  their  use,  the  extension  of  greater 
privileges  to  readers  and  borrowers,  and 
enables  greater  contact  between  the  hbrarian 
and  the  user  of  the  library.  The  librarian  of 
the  Boston  Athenaeum  finds  that: 

"  The  proprietor  of  a  library,  which  is 
owned  largely   by   educated  people,   feels 

80 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

nearer  to  the  officers  who  shape  its  policy  than 
the  taxpayer  does  to  his  trustee.  Therefore 
he  believes  that  he  comes  nearer  to  having  a 
part  in  shaping  its  course,  and  willingly  pays 
for  what  he  might  in  a  large  measure  obtain 
at  the  public  institution  without  a  fee." 

But  there  are  other  advantages.  The  pro- 
prietary library  is  not  only  capable  of  serving 
its  users  more  closely,  but  can  give  them  this 
service  under  conditions  which  more  nearly 
approximate  their  wishes  and  tastes.  Large 
numbers  necessarily  create  their  own  restric- 
tions, restrictions  of  quiet,  of  space  and  of 
access.  The  proprietary  library  can  extend 
to  its  patrons  every  privilege  as  well  as  every 
convenience  and  comfort  that  they  are  willing 
to  pay  for.  It  will  be  seen  therefore  that  it 
does  not  operate  under  the  conditions  that  at 
times  circumscribe  the  work  of  the  public 
library  with  more  limited  funds. 

Employment  in  a  proprietary  library  has 
certain  advantages.  Salaries  are  shghtly 
higher  than  in  similar  public  institutions  and 
meritorious  service  is  more  hkely  to  be  appre- 
ciated.    In  addition,  work  in  a  proprietary 

6  81 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

library  enables  close  contact  between  reader 
and  librarian,  bringing  with  it  an  opportu- 
nity of  personal  service  which  to  one  who 
truly  loves  his  work  is  satisfaction  which  dol- 
lars and  cents  alone  cannot  measure. 

To  the  untrained,  the  opportunity  of  work 
in  the  proprietary  or  subscription  library, 
whether  general  or  special,  is  rare.  For  work 
in  the  general  proprietary  Ubrary  at  least 
two  years  of  college  work  and  graduation 
from  an  approved  hbrary  school,  or  the 
equivalent  of  these  in  education  and  practical 
work  in  a  hbrary  may  be  regarded  as  the 
minimum  standard.  For  work  in  the  pro- 
prietary library  engaged  in  a  special  field 
such  as  law,  medicine,  theology,  fine  arts, 
or  engineering,  the  training  suggested  in 
the  chapters  treating  of  these  libraries 
is  applicable. 


82 


CHAPTER  VI 

School  Libraries 

The  value  of  the  school  library  to  the 
teacher  as  well  as  to  the  pupil  is  now  widely 
recognized.  School  libraries  are  to  be  found 
in  elementary,  high  and  normal  schools  and 
in  colleges.  Realization  of  the  useful  service 
which  the  school  library  can,  and  does  render, 
has  led  educators  throughout  the  United 
States  to  welcome  the  school  library.  The 
National  Education  Association  has  a  special 
Library  Department,  coordinate  with  its 
other  departments.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
rapid  growth  of  school  libraries  and  the 
special  nature  of  the  work  has  led  to  a  demand 
for  special  training,  which  some  of  the  library 
schools  are  now  trying  to  meet.  In  Califor- 
nia, for  example,  a  law  has  been  in  effect  since 
1917  under  which  a  high  school  librarian 
who  serves  more  than  two  hours  a  day  must 
have  a  high  school  teacher's  certificate  or  a 
special  certificate  in  library  craft,  technic  and 

83 


TKAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

use.  In  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  and  in  Brookline, 
Mass.,  college  graduation  as  well  as  gradua- 
tion from  an  approved  library  school  is  made 
prerequisite  to  library  work  in  a  high  school ; 
the  librarian,  however,  enjoys  the  status  on 
the  faculty  and  receives  the  salary  of  a  high 
school  teacher. 

School  hbraries  are  a  direct  aid  in  educa- 
tion. They  encourage  the  formation  of  the 
habit  of  reading,  at  the  same  time  acquaint- 
ing the  pupil  with  good  literature.  They 
facilitate  the  accumulation  of  knowledge  and 
contribute  directly  to  the  improvement  of  the 
intelligence  of  the  individual.  They  give  the 
growing  boy  and  girl  an  intimacy  with  a 
world  of  experience  larger  than  their  own. 
They  indicate  the  main  directions  in  which 
human  endeavor  finds  occupation  and  thus 
aid  the  child  directly  in  determining  his  own 
future  work.  A  school  library  does  not  need 
to  have  many  books.  "What  it  has  should, 
however,  be  the  best.  Good  clear  print,  and 
good  paper  and  illustrations  should  always 
be  preferred.  The  aesthetic  influence  of  a 
book  that  is  well  printed  and  well  illustrated 

84 


Through  the  good  offices  of  the  American  Library  Association  our  Merchant  Marine 
above  and  below  decks  is  supplied  with  current  literature  and  books. 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSIIIP 

is  not  difficult  to  measure.  A  badly  printed 
book  involves  a  strain  on  the  eyesight  and 
makes  reading  an  effort  instead  of  a  pleasure. 

Provision  of  good  reading  matter  for  chil- 
dren is  yet  in  its  experimental  stages.  Good 
books  are  few.  On  the  other  hand,  children, 
while  omnivorous  readers,  lack  the  basis  of 
discrimination  and  selection  in  their  reading 
which  is  possessed  by  grown  persons.  One 
of  the  most  important  functions  of  the  school 
librarian  is,  therefore,  to  direct  children  to 
good  books. 

Another  important  function  is  to  train  the 
child  in  the  use  of  books  and  of  libraries.  This 
may  involve  talks  and  practice  work  on  the 
use  of  dictionaries,  encyclopedias,  periodical 
indexes  and  other  general  reference  books,  on 
the  broader  features  of  classification  of  books 
within  the  library  and  the  purpose  and  use  of 
the  card  catalog.  The  librarian  of  a  state 
normal  school  describes  the  courses  given 
under  her  direction  to  students  preparing  for 
work  as  teachers : 

"  We  follow  a  hard  and  fast  rule  in  our 
library:  We  never  answer  a  question  for  a 

85 


TBAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

student  that  he  can  answer  for  himself.' 
Many  times  when  students  apply  for  help 
and  we  are  driven  just  at  that  minute,  the 
easiest  possible  means  of  getting  rid  of  them 
would  be  to  answer  their  questions;  but  we 
want  our  students  to  have  the  abihty  to  stand 
alone  and  help  themselves  when  there  is  no 
one  at  hand  to  help  them.  Our  question  to  an 
applicant  for  help  is,  *  Where  have  you 
looked? '  We  do  this  to  familiarize  him  with 
authors  and  get  him  out  of  the  red,  blue  and 
green  book  habit.  Many  times  he  is  on  the 
right  track.  If  he  is  not,  we  set  him  aright 
by  giving  suggestions  as  to  the  particular 
book  in  which  an  answer  might  be  lurking, 
and  always  we  try  to  keep  an  eye  on  him  until 
he  has  finally  found  the  information  desired. 
The  next  time  a  similar  question  comes  up,  it 
will  be  solved  with  less  effort  and  the  next 
time  almost  automatically.  The  teacher  will 
soon  discover  that  these  lessons  are  time- 
savers  rather  than  time-consumers,  and  the 
pupils  will  be  forming  library  habits  which 
will    hold    them    after    their    school    days 


are  over." 


86 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

Still  another  function  of  the  school  libra- 
rian is  to  unify  the  work  of  the  school  and 
the  library.  In  the  doing  of  this  school 
librarians  are  making  their  work  indispen- 
sable. In  the  state  of  Oregon,  for  example, 
the  State  Education  Department  has  recom- 
mended to  its  superintendents  that  in  any 
high  school  employing  ten  teachers,  nine  shall 
be  used  on  the  regular  teaching  staff  and  the 
tenth  shall  be  a  trained  librarian  who  may 
give  her  entire  time  to  hbrary  work  and  who 
shall  aid  the  other  nine.  Speaking  before 
the  Library  Department  of  the  National 
Education  Association  in  1917,  Professor 
Dallos  D.  Johnston,  of  the  University  of 
Washington,  pointed  to  the  importance  of 
the  work  of  the  school  librarian  and  said: 
"  In  this  movement  to  unify  school  and 
library  the  librarians  must  more  and  more 
take  the  initiative,  and  they  must  do  this  as 
much  for  the  sake  of  education  as  for  the 
sake  of  their  own  salvation.  .  •  •  The 
unification  of  school  and  hbrary  means  the 
transformation  of  librarians  .  •  .  into 
teachers  of  children,  who  do  not  believe 

87 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

that  an  education  is  simply  the  mastery  of 
a  textbook." 

Perhaps  the  largest  development  of  the 
school  library  so  far  has  been  in  connection 
with  the  high  schools  of  the  country.  Hardly 
a  progressive  school  system  exists  that  does 
not  have  a  library  in  its  high  school.  The 
work  of  the  high  school  librarian  falls  under 
four  main  heads — administrative,  technical, 
educational  and  inspirational.  The  adminis- 
trative work  consists  in  directing  the  policy 
of  the  library,  planning  the  work  of  assist- 
ants and,  in  general,  seeing  that  the  library  is 
used  to  maximum  capacity.  The  technical 
work  consists  in  selecting,  classifying,  cata- 
loging, indexing  and  filing  printed  material 
so  that  it  will  be  available  for  use  when  re- 
quired and  in  keeping  records  of  the  library 
and  of  its  use.  The  educational  work  con- 
sists in  helping  teachers  and  students  to  find 
suitable  material  on  particular  topics,  look- 
ing up  answers  to  questions  that  have  been 
raised  in  classroom  or  laboratory,  preparing 
suggested  reading  lists,  teaching  the  students 
how  to  use  the  library  and  in  cooperating 

88 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

with  vocational  counsellors  in  aiding  students 
to  choose  the  work  for  which  they  are  best 
fitted.  Inasmuch  as  the  high  school  student 
is  in  the  adolescent  stage  of  development 
when  habits  of  discipline  and  character  are 
being  formed,  the  high  school  librarian  can 
use  her  position  to  advantage  in  teaching  the 
pupil  to  use  books  as  tools  in  daily  work  and 
as  a  means  of  recreation  and  inspiration. 

The  Committee  on  Library  Organization 
and  Equipment  of  the  National  Education 
Association,  in  discussing  the  qualifications 
which  the  high  school  librarian  should  possess, 
recommends  that  "  a  wide  knowledge  of 
books,  ability  to  organize,  and  successful  ex- 
perience in  reference  work  should  be  de- 
manded of  every  librarian.  Most  of  all 
should  the  personality  of  the  librarian  be 
emphasized.  Enthusiasm  and  power  to  teach 
and  inspire  are  as  essential  in  the  high  school 
librarian  as  in  the  teacher.  Successful  library 
experience  in  work  with  boys  and  girls  of 
high  school  age,  either  in  the  reference  room, 
in  the  children's  department  or  school  de- 
partment of  a  public  library,  or  in  a  high 

89 


'    TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

school  should  be  required  of  candidates.  Suc- 
cessful teaching  experience  in  a  high  school 
is  a  valuable  asset  in  the  librarian."  The 
professional  requirements  suggested  for  high 
school  librarians  are  graduation  from  a 
college  or  university,  with  major  studies  in 
literature,  history,  sociology,  education,  or 
other  subjects  appropriate  to  special  de- 
mands such  as  those  of  the  technical  high 
school  upon  the  library.  At  least  one  year  of 
graduate  training  in  an  approved  library 
school  and  one  year's  successful  experi- 
ence in  work  with  young  people  in  a  Ubrary 
is  advised. 

The  importance  of  the  library  as  an  inte- 
gral part  in  university  education  is  now  uni- 
versally recognized  by  educators.  For 
example,  at  the  dedication  of  the  new  library 
building  at  Princeton  University,  President 
Daniel  C.  Oilman  urged  that  "  The  library 
of  a  university  is  its  very  heart.  If  the  heart 
is  weak,  every  organ  suffers;  if  strong,  aU 
are  invigorated."  In  one  of  his  early  reports 
as  President  of  Harvard  University,  Charles 
W.  Eliot  speaks  of  the  Harvard  College 

90 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

Library  as  "  having  a  profound  effect  upon 
the  instruction  given  at  the  university,  as 
regards  both  substance  and  method:  it 
teaches  the  teachers." 

The  university  or  college  Ubrary  is  used 
by  members  of  the  teaching  staff  either  for 
teaching  or  for  study,  by  those  engaged  in 
research  of  any  sort  whether  teachers,  grad- 
uate students  or  undergraduates,  by  students 
requiring  books  for  collateral  reading  and 
general  readers  mainly  for  cultural  purposes. 

The  responsibility  of  the  university  libra- 
rian toward  the  reader  is  perhaps  greater  than 
that  of  the  hbrarian  toward  the  reader  in  the 
general  pubhc  library.  The  public  libraiy 
is  a  civic  institution  very  much  hke  others 
maintained  at  public  expense.  It  exists 
mainly  to  serve  the  public,  and  the  claim  of 
the  public  on  it  is  in  many  ways  greater  than 
its  reciprocal  claim  on  those  who  use  it.  With 
the  university  library  the  case  is  somewhat 
different.  Such  persons  as  use  it  come  for 
a  more  specific  purpose.  The  reader  here  is 
at  the  same  time  a  student,  and,  as  a  former 
librarian  of  the  University  of  Rochester  has 

91 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

indicated,  the  university  librarian  "  is,  with 
the  faculty,  in  some  degree  responsible  for 
his  healthy  intellectual  growth.  He  is  not  at 
liberty  to  permit  a  waste  of  energy  for  want 
of  method  by  those  who  are  inchned  to  read; 
nor  may  he  be  indifferent  to  the  neglect  of 
opportunities  by  those  who  are  not.  A 
library  for  the  use  of  students  requires  such 
an  administration  as  to  inspire  the  dullest 
with  interest  and  give  a  healthful  direction  to 
the  reading  of  all." 

University  librarians  are  recognizing  in 
ever-increasing  degree  the  possibihties  of 
their  position  as  an  influence  on  the  student 
body  in  stimulating  good  reading  habits, 
proper  methods  of  study  and  of  care  and 
accuracy  in  research.  In  many  colleges  to- 
day courses  in  library  science  are  given  as  a 
means  of  acquainting  students  with  the  fun- 
damentals in  the  use  of  print.  In  1914, 
ninety-one  colleges  gave  such  courses.  Such 
instruction  is  as  necessary  indeed,  as  is  labo- 
ratory work  in  other  sciences;  it  not  only 
familiarizes  the  student  with  what  is  in  the 
library  of  his  own  university,  but  makes  clear 

92 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

to  him  how  to  use  any  library  to  which  he  may 
have  access.  It  places  in  the  student's  hands 
a  power  which  frequently  outweighs  all  that 
he  may  gain  in  college  courses,  for  it  not  only 
teaches  him  how  to  study,  but  acquaints  him 
also  with  the  means  of  continuing  his  educa- 
tion after  graduation. 


93 


CHAPTER  VII 

The  Special  Library 

Experience  has  taught  mankind  that 
speciahzation  is  one  of  the  ways  to  efficiency. 
Whatever  the  field  of  human  activity  that  is 
examined,  it  is  quite  apparent  that  speciahza- 
tion has  brought  with  it  expertness,  intensive 
knowledge  and  improved  methods.  The 
physician  who  is  a  specialist  is,  in  the  field  of 
his  specialty,  preferred  to  the  general  prac- 
titioner. A  skilled  workman  is  preferred  to 
a  Jack-of-all-trades. 

Libraries,  hke  other  institutions,  have  been 
awake  to  the  value  of  speciahzation.  In  the 
public  hbraries  of  the  larger  cities,  as  has 
already  been  indicated,  departments  having 
special  collections  have  been  created.  These 
special  collections,  while  sometimes  referred 
to  as  special  hbraries,  are  not  really  such. 

The  special  hbrary  differs  from  the  pubhc 
and  other  types  of  libraries  both  in  its  manner 
of  work  and  in  the  use  which  is  made  of  it. 

94 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

A  special  collection,  limited  to  a  subject  or  a 
group  of  allied  subjects,  and  a  specialist  in  its 
charge  are  essential  to  it.  But  the  books  and 
other  materials,  as  such,  are  of  secondary 
consideration  in  a  special  library.  The  use 
to  which  the  information  within  them  is  put 
is  primary.  The  special  library  collects 
material  only  for  the  service  which  this  will 
render.  It  does  not  collect  for  the  mere  sake 
of  possession.  Form,  too,  is  only  secondary 
with  it.  If  a  page  of  a  book  is  all  that  will 
aid  the  organization  with  which  it  is  con- 
nected, only  the  page  and  nothing  more  will 
be  saved.  If  a  newspaper  chpping  will  give 
the  information  better  than  a  book,  the 
special  library  will  keep  the  clipping. 

The  special  library  holds  printed  and  other 
matter  only  so  long  as  this  has  the  possibihty 
of  use ;  as  soon  as  this  use  is  past  the  material 
is  discarded.  This  practice  is  characteristic 
of  the  special  library  and  of  no  other.  John 
Cotton  Dana,  librarian  of  the  Free  Public 
Library  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  and  founder  of 
the  Special  Libraries  Association,  has  put 

95 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

this  difference  between  the  special  and  other 
libraries  succinctly: 

"  Select  the  best  books,  list  them  elabo- 
rately, save  them  forever — was  the  sum  of  the 
librarian's  creed  of  yesterday.  To-morrow 
it  must  be,  select  a  few  of  the  best  books  and 
keep  them,  as  before,  but  also  select  from  the 
vast  flood  of  print  the  things  your  constit- 
uency will  find  helpful,  make  them  available 
with  a  minimum  of  expense,  and  discard 
them  as  soon  as  their  influence  is  past/' 

The  special  Hbrary  collects  only  for  the 
needs  of  its  special  constituency,  and  collects 
only  whatever  will  be  useful  to  those  whom 
it  serves. 

Service  is  its  keynote.  Therefore,  it  pre- 
pares digests,  summaries,  reports  of  the  mate- 
rial as  it  comes  in,  or  as  these  reports  are 
required.  It  advises  regarding  the  rehabihty 
of  information.  It  tries  to  gauge  the  de- 
mands of  the  organization  and  gathers  to- 
gether everything  it  can  that  will  make  the 
information  it  has  more  complete  and  more 
accurate.  By  correspondence,  by  personal 
inquiry  and  by  other  means  it  will  try  to  sup- 

96 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

plement  the  information  that  it  has.  Not 
numbers  of  books,  magazines,  pamphlets  and 
chppings  are  its  criterion.  The  information 
within  these  is  its  concern.  But  not  that 
alone.  Its  aim  is  always  to  see  that  the  infor- 
mation has  the  possibility  of  use  and  then  to 
put  it  to  use.  The  special  library  is  then  an 
information  center  with  the  information  at 
work  on  the  job.  It  is  an  information  clear- 
ing house  and  research  bureau  in  one. 

Business  men  particularly  have  been  keen 
enough  to  see  the  value  of  the  special  library 
and  the  special  library  has  been  widely 
adopted  in  business.  The  special  library  does 
not  necessarily,  however,  have  to  be  a  busi- 
ness library.  It  may  be  a  law,  medical,  agri- 
cultural, financial  or  theological  library.  The 
way  it  is  used  and  the  service  which  it  gives 
determine  whether  any  library  is  special  or 
not.  On  the  other  hand,  a  business  library 
is  not  of  necessity  a  special  library.  A  busi- 
ness library  that  merely  circulates  books  as 
part  of  the  welfare  work  of  the  company  is 
not  a  special  library.  Only  when  it  reaches 
out,  serving  as  other  executive  departments 

7  97 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

of  the  company  are  serving,  can  it  be  recog- 
nized as  a  special  library.  Therefore  it  does 
not  wait  for  inquiries  to  come  to  it  before  it 
becomes  active.  It  initiates  inquiries,  and 
when  it  has  the  information  it  wants,  it  places 
it  immediately  before  the  person  or  persons 
who  will  profit  by  it,  in  the  form  in  which  it 
has  come,  as  a  memorandum,  as  a  report  or 
in  such  other  manner  as  it  deems  best  to 
achieve  a  desired  result. 

It  will  be  seen  therefore  that  the  special 
hbrary  differs  from  the  pubhc  library  in  a 
number  of  important  respects.  Dr.  C.  C. 
Williamson,  of  the  New  York  Pubhc 
Library,  touches  on  one  of  these  in  the  fol- 
lowing words : 

"  The  special  library  is  an  efficient,  up-to- 
date,  reasonably  complete,  collection  of  the 
literature  of  a  particular  subject,  including 
not  only  books  but  chppings,  pamphlets, 
articles,  reports,  etc.,  all  so  completely  in- 
dexed and  classified  that  the  latest  and  best 
data  are  available,  without  the  difficulties  and 
delays  that  are  more  or  less  inevitable  in  a 
large  public  library. 

98 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

"  The  public  libraries  in  general  have  not 
yet  undertaken  to  give  the  public  special  ser- 
vice of  this  character.  This  is  doubtless  in 
part  because  the  demand  has  not  seemed  to 
warrant  it,  but  perhaps  the  principal  reason 
is  that  the  expense  would  be  heavy.  In  order 
to  have  an  efficient  special  library  you  must 
put  a  specialist  in  charge  of  it.  Now,  how- 
ever well  informed  and  efficient  the  general 
reference  librarian  may  be,  he  cannot  be  a 
speciahst  on  any  considerable  number  of  sub- 
jects. Consequently  for  the  general  or  pub- 
lic library  to  follow  the  lead  of  the  special 
libraries,  would  require  a  far  larger  reference 
staff  and  increased  expenditure  for  adminis- 
tration, purchase  of  books,  etc." 

W.  W.  Bishop,  librarian  of  the  University 
of  Michigan,  and  a  former  president  of  the 
American  Library  Association,  touches  on 
another  difference: 

"  Consider  for  a  moment  the  attitude  of  the 
so-called  *  special  library  '  toward  its  cHents. 
Because  of  their  high  intelligence  in  some 
special  field,  of  their  keen  interest  in  the 
hterature  of  their  calling,  the  clients  of  such  a 

99 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

library  demand  and  secure  high-grade  ser- 
vice within  that  field,  a  service  which  gener- 
ally sets  itself  no  limits  of  time  or  effort  on 
behalf  of  its  readers.  Zeal  in  such  a  library 
does  not  degenerate  into  officiousness,  nor 
does  proper  reserve  become  indifference.  The 
librarians  of  a  scientific  laboratory,  of  an  in- 
surance company,  of  a  research  institute 
know  their  limited  clientele,  anticipate  their 
wants,  respond  to  their  calls,  serve  intelli- 
gently, and  therefore  successfully." 

"  Special  libraries,"  writes  R,.  H.  John- 
ston, of  the  Bureau  of  Railway  Economics, 
"  will  become  more  and  more  a  factor  in  the 
solving  of  business,  commercial  and  indus- 
trial problems  as  well  as  civic  and  legis- 
lative difficulties.  They  are  no  longer 
an  experiment." 

Good  education,  wide  informational  back- 
ground, organizing  ability,  breadth  of  vision 
and  the  power  to  distinguish  between  essen- 
tials and  non-essentials,  a  degree  of  literary 
capacity,  and  specialized  training  in  the  field 
of  activity  in  which  he  serves  are  essential 
to  the  special  hbrarian. 

100 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Agricultural  Libraries 

"  The  challenge  to  agriculture  of  these 
wonderful  times  in  which  we  are  living,  de- 
mands the  best  effort  of  the  best  intelligence 
in  our  country,  and  above  all  a  willingness 
to  cooperate  on  every  side  with  existing 
agencies  for  the  advancement  of  human  wel- 
fare and  happiness.  You  librarians  who  are 
helping  to  bring  to  the  scientists,  engaged  in 
the  solution  of  agricultural  problems,  the 
knowledge  of  the  past  and  present  experi- 
ments, and  to  bring  to  the  farmer  not  only 
the  learning  of  the  scientists  but  also  the  cul- 
ture and  pleasure  which  comes  from  the  read- 
ing of  good  books,  are  doing  a  noble  service, 
which  is  not  merely  one  of  class  benefit,  but 
also  one  of  general  and  far-reaching  value 
to  the  whole  of  society."  So  writes  the  Hon. 
Clarence  Ousley,  Assistant  Secretary  of  the 
U.  S,  Department  of  Agriculture  of  the  work 
of  the  agricultural  librarian. 

101 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

Agricultural  libraries  may  broadly  be 
divided  into  three  classes:  first,  those  con- 
nected with  agricultural  colleges;  second, 
those  connected  with  experiment  stations,  and 
third,  private  agricultural  hbraries  owned  by 
individuals,  societies  or  corporations.  The 
first  two  are  in  many  cases  very  similar,  yet 
differences,  due  both  to  geographical  location 
and  to  variations  in  the  manner  of  organiza- 
tion of  the  colleges  and  experiment  stations, 
are  hkely  to  be  reflected  in  the  character  of 
their  libraries.  In  some  states,  as  in  Minne- 
sota and  in  Wisconsin,  the  state  agricultural 
college  is  maintained  as  part  of  the  state  uni- 
versity; in  others,  as  in  Massachusetts  and 
in  Oregon,  it  is  not.  In  Oregon  the  agricul- 
tural college  library  and  the  experiment  sta- 
tion library  are  maintained  as  one;  in 
Massachusetts  a  separate  station  hbrary  is 
maintained  but  is  under  the  supervision  of 
the  college  Hbrarian ;  in  Ohio  and  in  Georgia 
the  experiment  stations,  and  in  turn  their 
libraries,  are  not  connected  with  an  agricul- 
tural college. 

These  differences  while  administrative  in 

102 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

character  in  some  cases  affect  the  library. 
Where  the  agricultural  college  is  part  of  a 
university  having  a  large  general  hbrary,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  New  York  State  College 
of  Agriculture  at  Cornell  University,  the  col- 
lege library  may  develop  very  intensively  its 
own  special  collections,  relying  on  the  uni- 
versity hbrary  for  general  works  in  kindred 
or  alien  sciences. 

In  some  states,  however,  as  in  Maine  and 
in  Ohio,  there  is  no  separate  agricultural 
library,  the  agricultural  collections  being 
kept  together  with  other  collections  in  the 
university  library.  In  all  there  are  in  the 
United  States  sixty-five  agricultural  colleges, 
supported  by  federal  and  state  funds. 
Twenty-three  of  these  are  of  the  character 
of  state  universities,  twenty-eight  are  sepa- 
rate institutions  having  the  function  of  state 
colleges,  and  fourteen  exist  for  colored  per- 
sons in  the  South. 

The  agricultural  college  libraries  serve 
particularly  the  teaching  staff  and  the  stu- 
dents. The  latter  comprise  those  doing 
graduate  work,  undergraduates  engaged  on 

103 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

regular  college  grade  work,  and  special  stu- 
dents taking  short  courses.  Except  that  it  is 
more  specialized  in  nature,  service  here  does 
not  vary  extensively  from  that  in  the  univer- 
sity or  school  hbraries  considered  elsewhere. 
Agricultural  libraries  naturally  pay  most 
attention  to  collecting  literature  of  those 
fundamental  sciences  with  which  agricultural 
endeavor  is  most  concerned,  such  as  rural 
economics,  botany,  zoology,  entomology,  bac^ 
teriology,  plant  pathology,  chemistry,  veteri- 
nary medicine  and  forestry,  and  in  addition, 
literature  on  agriculture  in  all  its  branches, 
such  as  horticulture,  floriculture,  vegetable 
and  fruit-growing,  poultry-keeping,  animal 
husbandry,  farm  mechanics  and  agricul- 
tural engineering. 

Another  phase  of  the  work  of  the  agricul- 
tural college  library  is  its  extension  work. 
Following  the  lead  of  the  agricultural  col- 
leges, the  agricultural  libraries  also  entered 
into  extension  work.  The  colleges  adopted 
the  slogan,  "If  you  can't  come  to  the  college, 
the  college  will  come  to  you."  They  sent  out 
special  exhibits — wheat  specials,  corn  trains, 

104 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

exhibits  explaining  methods  of  raising  fish, 
poultry  and  fruit,  they  arranged  country 
fairs,  farmer's  short  courses  in  winter,  insti- 
tutes, they  organized  clubs,  stimulated  inter- 
est and  brought  their  expert  knowledge  home 
to  the  farmer.  The  immediate  success  of  this 
work  influenced  the  agricultural  college  hbra- 
ries  to  follow  suit.  Reading  lists,  such  as 
those  of  the  New  York  State  College  of 
Agriculture  at  Cornell  University,  entitled 
"  Reading  in  the  Farm  Home  "  and  "  What 
Shall  the  Farmer  Read,"  were  prepared. 
Study  outlines  for  social  and  civic  clubs  as 
well  as  for  reading  and  other  clubs  were 
made.  Reading  matter  was  supplied,  books 
being  sent  by  parcels  post.  Package  libraries 
of  pamphlets,  chppings  and  bulletins  were 
sent  to  individuals,  clubs  and  schools.  The 
North  Dakota  Agricultural  College  even 
prepared  typewritten  copies  of  declamations, 
speeches  and  amateur  plays  to  be  loaned  to 
schools.  The  University  of  Wisconsin  issued 
bibliographical  bulletins  on  a  variety  of  sub- 
jects in  addition  to  its  package  libraries. 
The    Massachusetts    Agricultural    College 

105 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

went  even  further  and  sent  out  travelling 
libraries.  Purdue  University  prepared  a 
sample  library  of  good  agricultural  books, 
arranging  to  sell  sets  to  the  farmers;  the 
work  was  most  successful.  In  addition,  the 
college  libraries  helped  to  distribute  the  bul- 
letins issued  by  the  U.  S.  Department  of 
Agriculture,  and  similar  bulletins  prepared 
by  the  state  department  of  agriculture  or  by 
the  college  itself.  Through  the  farmers' 
papers,  on  the  special  trains,  at  fairs  and  at 
institutes  the  work  was  carried  on. 

All  these  activities  have  been  continued  and 
enlarged  in  many  directions.  The  agricul- 
tural college  library  has  established  itself  as 
an  information  center  and  service  bureau.  It 
has  helped  the  farmer  in  his  work,  at  the  same 
time  contributing  to  the  improvement  of  the 
conditions  of  rural  life.  It  has  supplied  in- 
formation on  domestic  science,  on  bee-keep- 
ing, on  feeding  and  the  many  problems  of 
concern  to  those  on  the  farm,  and  has  thus 
made  the  woman,  the  boy  and  the  man  on  the 
farm  feel  its  presence.  It  has  in  short  come 
to  the  farmer  where  it  knew  the  farmer  could 

106 


TEAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

not  come  to  it.  This  extension  work  still  con- 
tinues, and  in  many  localities  gives  the  college 
library  much  wider  range  than  the  precincts 
of  the  college  itself.  The  extension  work 
of  the  agi'icultural  libraries,  like  that  of  the 
free  public  libraries,  has  been  one  of  the  con- 
structive contributions  of  modern  American 
librarianship.  It  has  helped  to  make  the 
agricultural  library  a  living  organism  in  agri- 
cultural endeavor  and  an  important  factor  in 
agricultural  education. 

Still  another  phase  of  the  work  of  the  agri- 
cultural library  exists.  This  is  in  connection 
with  the  experiment  stations.  The  purpose 
of  the  agricultural  experiment  stations  is  to 
conduct  researches  and  to  disseminate  the 
results  of  the  research.  Scientific  research  in 
agriculture  is  no  less  important  than  is  re- 
search in  industry  or  elsewhere,  for  it  is  only 
through  exact  knowledge,  supplemented  by 
new  theories,  facts,  experiments  and  thought 
that  the  fund  of  human  information  is  in- 
creased. Research  is  a  process  of  working 
from  the  known  to  the  unknown;  it  rests 
primarily  on  the  work  of  others  and  the 

107 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

knowledge  adduced  by  them.  Therefore  the 
prime  need  in  agricultural  research,  as  in  all 
scientific  investigation,  is  full  acquaint- 
ance with  the  state  of  knowledge  to  the  time 
of  the  present  inquiry.  This  entails  knowing 
what  has  been  done,  for  in  no  other  way  can 
the  status  of  the  subject  be  determined. 
Furthermore,  the  evidence  must  be  examined 
so  as  to  test  its  soundness.  It  is  only  when 
this  necessary  preliminary  acquaintance  with 
all  that  has  been  written  and  accomplished 
has  been  secured  that  the  research  student  is 
prepared  to  develop  new  facts,  concepts  and 
theories,  and  engage  in  experiment  to  test  the 
accuracy  of  his  inductions  and  deductions. 

Since  the  work  of  the  past  is  to  be  ascer- 
tained almost  exclusively  from  printed 
sources  of  information,  it  follows  that  the  first 
task  of  the  investigator  in  entering  upon  any 
inquiry  is  to  have  at  his  command,  and  so 
arranged  as  to  be  easy  of  access,  every  bit  of 
information  that  is  likely  to  be  of  help  to  him. 
It  is  here  that  the  librarian  steps  in  as  the 
person  best  fitted  to  give  the  investigator  this 
initial  service.    As  the  work  goes  on  it  may 

108 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

become  more  and  more  complex,  running 
into  other  sciences  and  the  librarian,  because 
of  her  familiarity  with  sources  of  information 
can  therefore  be  of  constant  help ;  or  new  in- 
formation having  a  possible  bearing  on  the 
subject  under  investigation  may  become 
available,  in  which  case  it  is  the  task  of  the 
librarian  to  call  this  to  the  attention  of  the  in- 
vestigator. Thus  at  the  beginning  and  during 
the  subsequent  conduct  of  an  investigation, 
the  cooperation  of  the  librarian  is  essential. 
It  helps  directly  in  keeping  the  investi- 
gator informed  and  consequently  better  pre- 
pared. In  addition,  it  saves  the  investigator's 
time;  it  conserves  his  energy  and  thought, 
thereby  aiding  him  directly  in  his  work. 

It  is  a  recognition  of  this  definite  place  of 
the  librarian  as  a  contributing  factor  to  the 
success  of  the  workers  in  the  experiment 
stations  that  has  led  Doctor  True,  a  former 
head  of  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  of 
the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  to  say: 

"  The  station  hbrary  lies  at  the  very  heart 
of  the  station's  work  and  is  second  to  nothing 
in  importance.    .     .     .     The  equipment  of 

109 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

the  station  library  should,  therefore,  be  one 
of  the  first  considerations  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  station,  and  not  merely  a  desir- 
able adjunct." 

The  present  Chief  of  the  Office  of  Experi- 
ment Stations  writes  in  no  less  definite 
manner : 

"  The  advantage  of  the  hbrarian  in  such  a 
line  of  activity  lies  in  a  training  which  has 
taught  skill  and  patience  in  conducting  such 
searches  in  a  thorough  and  systematic  man- 
ner, a  knowledge  of  sources  of  material  and 
of  bibliographic  helps,  and  a  special  faculty 
which  experience  develops  in  tracing  infor- 
mation to  its  source.  This  type  of  assistance 
has  not  been  as  largely  utilized  in  agricultural 
research  as  it  might  be,  partly  perhaps  be- 
cause the  subjects  are  technical  and  often 
more  specialized,  and  the  investigator  is 
accustomed  to  employ  only  trained  assistants 
in  conducting  the  teclinical  features  of  in- 
quiry. On  the  other  hand,  the  field  has  not 
been  entered  by  librarians  except  in  a  limited 
extent,  probably  because  of  the  reasons  cited 
and  because  of  the  pressure  of  other  library 

110 


The  Crew's  Reading  Room  aboard  ship  and  the  wards  in  the  hospital  are  taken  care  of 
by  the  American  Library  Association. 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

duties.  While  a  knowledge  of  general  science 
is  unquestionably  a  great  help,  the  librarian 
is  in  the  habit  of  dealing  with  a  wide  range 
of  subjects  without  special  knowledge,  and 
this  has  inculcated  a  quick  perception,  a 
readiness  in  determining  what  might  be  of 
value,  and  unusual  breadth  of  adaptability. 
These  things  contribute  to  give  a  degree  of 
intelligence  in  such  work  beyond  what  might 
at  first  be  expected.  With  guidance  on  the 
part  of  the  investigator  and  some  attention  to 
instructing  the  librarian  in  the  elements 
which  go  to  make  up  the  subject  under  in- 
vestigation, skill  may  be  developed  which 
should  prove  highly  helpful. 

"  From  the  standpoint  of  the  librarian 
there  would  seem  to  be  a  special  field  worth 
cultivating,  and  of  considerable  interest. 
Hundreds  of  men  and  women  in  this  country 
are  now  engaged  in  research  in  agriculture. 
In  addition  to  the  large  force  of  investigators 
in  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  ex- 
periment station,  which  is  the  research  depart- 
ment of  the  agricultural  college,  and  several 
State  departments  of  agriculture,  an  in- 
111 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

creasing  number  of  industrial  concerns  are 
engaged  in  investigation  which  deals  with 
agricultural  questions.  For  the  librarian 
who  has  this  field  in  view  the  general  science 
courses  of  college  afford  good  foundation  and 
enable  facility  in  special  technical  lines  to  be 
more  readily  acquired.  Surely  men  engaged 
in  research  would  be  quick  to  recognize  assist- 
ance. The  present  scope  of  the  field,  which  is 
steadily  broadening,  would  seem  to  offer  en- 
couragement to  make  some  special  prepara- 
tion for  it." 


112 


CHAPTER  IX 

Business  Librahies 

The  modern  business  library  is  largely  a 
development  of  the  present  century,  and  is 
an  evidence  as  well  as  an  outgrowth  of  the 
scientific  spirit  in  industrial  enterprise.  Most 
progressive  firms  to-day  have  special  libraries 
of  some  kind.  Within  the  last  three  years 
the  number  of  business  hbraries  has  more 
than  doubled;  about  2500  such  libraries  are 
now  to  be  found  in  the  United  States.  In 
England  their  number,  while  much  smaller, 
is  steadily  increasing.  The  growing  interest 
in  improved  methods,  in  industrial  research, 
and  in  foreign  markets,  the  widespread  recog- 
nition of  the  importance  of  training  and  edu- 
cating employees  in  industrial  ways  and  tech- 
nical methods,  and  the  direct  assistance  which 
the  library  offers  in  developing  intelligent 
workmanship,  mutual  interest  and  in  saving 
time  as  well  as  mental  and  physical  energy, 
promises  for  it  a  still  wider  extension. 

8  113 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

Business  libraries  have  been  instituted  to 
aid  either  the  company  executives  or  to  serve 
the  rank  and  file ;  their  primary  purpose  has 
been  to  organize  the  wealth  of  printed  and 
other  informational  matter  relating  to  the 
business  or  the  industry,  so  that  it  might  all 
be  available  as  an  effective  aid  or  tool  in  daily 
work.  The  business  executive  or  manager  of 
to-day  must,  if  he  hopes  to  succeed,  know 
not  only  the  technical  details  of  his  own  busi- 
ness. He  must  know  of  the  general  develop- 
ments in  his  industry  and  must  have  also  a 
respectable  familiarity  with  many  other  mat- 
ters. He  must  know  something  of  account- 
ing and  financing  and  a  good  deal  of 
production  and  marketing.  Moreover,  busi- 
ness procedure  is  continually  becoming  more 
and  more  scientific.  In  order  that  the  execu- 
tive may  avail  himself  of  the  gains  which  im- 
proved methods  make  possible,  and  increase 
the  prosperity  of  the  business,  he  is  under 
continued  necessity  of  keeping  informed  of 
what  is  going  on.  Furthermore,  to  meet  suc- 
cessfully the  competition  of  other  firms  his 
methods  must  be  at  least  as  good  as  theirs, 

114 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

and  his  information  in  the  aggregate  no  less. 
The  same  need  apphes,  although  in  lesser 
degree,  to  all  the  supervisory  assistants  of 
management;  upon  them  rests  largely  the 
making  effective  of  the  company's  policies 
and  decisions. 

To  do  this  and  to  keep  abreast  of  con- 
ditions, sound  information  is  necessary.  The 
wide  range  of  printed  matter  has  already 
been  indicated;  the  amount  of  technical  and 
trade  literature  appearing  from  day  to  day  is 
alone  so  large  that  no  business  man  can  v^ade 
through  it  all.  Moreover,  the  average  busi- 
ness man  has  but  little  time  which  he  can 
devote  to  reading.  Therefore  information 
that  comes  to  him  must  be  brief  yet  complete, 
reliable,  clear  and  definite,  well-organized, 
and  available  on  demand.  The  procuring, 
organization  and  analysis  of  this  information 
is,  then,  the  task  of  the  business  librarian. 
The  business  hbrary  thus  means  more  than  a 
special  collection  of  books,  pamphlets  and 
clippings  on  a  subject  or  group  of  subjects. 
Indeed,  number  of  volumes  is  a  secondary 
consideration.     The    aim    of    the    business 

115 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

library  is  rather  to  function  as  a  central  in- 
formation, statistical,  or  research  bureau, 
and,  like  other  departments,  to  aid  directly 
or  indirectly  in  making  profits,  in  increasing 
quantity,  quality  and  efficiency  of  produc- 
tion, in  building  up  an  intelligent  work  force, 
and  in  the  general  improvement  and  exten- 
sion of  the  business.  Only  in  so  far  as  it 
does  this  is  the  business  library  justifiable. 

The  business  library  serves  a  most  useful 
purpose  also  in  helping  employees  in  their 
work.  To  the  clerical  or  stenographic  staff 
such  aid  may  take  the  form  of  supplying  a 
much  needed  name  or  address,  sometimes  of 
calHng  to  their  attention  books  and  magazine 
articles  of  a  stimulating,  educational  or 
cultural  character. 

When  it  is  remembered  that  about  one 
million  14-year-old  boys  and  girls  in  the 
United  States  leave  school  each  year,  a  large 
number  of  them  having  completed  no  more 
than  the  fifth  or  sixth  grade,  it  is  apparent 
that  some  measures  must  be  taken  by  em- 
ployers to  make  up  this  defect  in  education. 
Progressive  business  men  have,  therefore, 

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TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

established  libraries  in  their  ofBces  or  plants 
as  a  means  of  helping  the  more  ambitious 
among  their  employees  to  help  themselves. 

As  far  as  employees  are  concerned,  the 
business  library  serves  an  informational,  in- 
spirational and  recreational  need.  For 
example,  the  librarian  of  Wilson  &  Co., 
packers  at  Chicago,  111.,  states  that  her 
library  "  was  organized  and  is  maintained 
for  the  use  of  the  company  employees,  to 
assist  them  in  not  only  meeting  problems 
which  come  up  in  their  departments,  but  to 
enable  them  to  become  more  familiar  with  the 
various  phases  of  the  packing  industry, 
thereby  preparing  themselves  for  promotion 
to  higher  positions,  which  the  many  plants 
and  branches  of  the  Company  are  offering 
to  efficient  men  and  women." 

Many  business  houses  maintain  libraries  as 
part  of  their  welfare  work.  The  Marshall 
Field  &  Company  library  at  Chicago,  for 
example,  has  not  only  books  which  may  be 
read  for  pleasure,  such  as  fiction,  travel  and 
general  hterature,  but  has  also  juvenile  books 
which  parents  may  take  home  for  their  chil- 
li? 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

dren  to  read.  Some  companies  have  libraries 
in  connection  with  rest  rooms  for  employees ; 
the  library  thus  plays  a  useful  part  in  restor- 
ing the  tired  worker  to  a  point  where  her 
work  may  be  resumed.  The  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Labor,  in  a  recent  study  of  welfare 
work  in  431  industrial  estabhshments,  found 
libraries  provided  by  the  company  in  99  cases, 
while  in  56  others,  the  companies,  while  not 
furnishing  books,  maintained  a  branch  of  the 
pubhc  library  and  supplied  the  necessary 
librarians.  In  85  of  these  155  business  hbra- 
ries,  reading  rooms  supplied  with  magazines, 
newspapers,  or  both,  were  found. 

Little  has  yet  been  done  in  the  way  of  mak- 
ing the  business  library  actually  serve  the 
worker  in  the  factory  while  he  is  at  work.  In 
a  few  cases  a  beginning  has  been  made.  Thus 
in  one  business  library  information  that  will 
help  the  man  at  the  machine  to  increase  his 
efficiency  is  placed  in  the  factory  so  as  to  be 
easily  accessible  to  those  for  whom  it  is  in- 
tended. Curiosity  and  the  desire  for  self- 
improvement  are  relied  upon  to  make  the 
worker  read  the  magazine  article  or  section  of 

118 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

a  book  marked  for  him.  There  is,  however, 
much  room  for  development  in  this  field. 

In  organizing  or  managing  a  business 
library,  thorough  acquaintance  with  all  the 
phases  of  work  of  the  company  or  business  is 
necessary.  The  wider  this  knowledge  is,  the 
more  definite  can  the  service  be  that  is  ren- 
dered. If  the  business  is  manufacturing,  the 
librarian  must  know  the  various  processes 
involved  from  the  receipt  of  the  raw  material 
to  its  shipment  as  a  finished  product.  If  it  is 
a  sales  organization,  the  librarian  should  learn 
everything  possible  about  sales  methods.  In 
an  advertising  concern  the  subject  to  be  mas- 
tered is  obviously  means  and  methods  of 
advertising;  in  a  credit  organization,  it 
is  credits. 

A  knowledge  of  the  personnel,  policy  and 
methods  of  the  concern  is  equally  essential. 
Since  the  aim  of  the  library  is  primarily  ser- 
vice to  those  engaged  in  the  business,  an 
understanding  of  the  work  of  the  various 
departments  and  employees  is  fundamental, 
and,  in  order  that  the  library  may  work  in 
harmony  with  all,  a  knowledge  of  the  way  in 

119 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

which  the  company  does  its  work  is  helpful. 
The  success  of  the  business  Hbrary  has  been 
largely  due  to  its  adaptability ;  hardly  a  type 
of  business  activity  exists  in  which  the  library 
has  not  proved  its  usefulness. 

The  business  librarian  must  be  intimately 
familiar  with  library  technic  and  method, 
since  his  ability  as  an  organizer  of  informa- 
tion and  of  informational  resources  rests 
solely  on  apphed  library  science.  He  must 
not,  however,  be  a  slave  to  hbrary  rules  since 
service  and  not  form  is  the  ruling  principle 
of  the  business  library.  Before  departing 
from  standard  practice,  it  is  wise  to  ponder 
the  reason  for  such  practice;  all  this  means 
that  while  the  business  librarian  must  be 
skilled  in  the  mechanics  of  librarianship,  he 
should  use  this  skill  only  to  make  available 
information  with  whose  accumulation,  organ- 
ization and  dissemination  he  is  charged. 

Besides  definite  understanding  of  hbrary 
work  and  the  means  of  its  application  to  mod- 
ern business,  the  Ubrarian  should  have  a  good 
education  and  some  training  in  economics. 
Sound  common  sense,  tact  and  enthusiasm, 

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TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

ability  to  work  in  unison  with  others,  a  quick 
perception  of  essentials,  adaptabihty  and 
executive  abihty  are  required  in  the  work. 
Wide  knowledge  of  the  subjects  in  which  the 
organization  is  most  interested  is  advisable. 
The  business  librarian  is  invariably  expected 
to  foresee  the  demand  for  and  be  prepared  to 
give  information  along  any  lines  in  which  the 
company's  personnel  is  interested.  For  this 
reason  close  contact  with  all  whom  the  hbrary 
is  intended  to  serve  is  essential. 

Most  important  in  the  business  library  is 
the  person  in  charge.  Upon  him  depends 
largely  the  attitude  of  the  company  and  its 
employees  toward  the  library.  To  those  who 
are  qualified  for  the  work  and  are  capable 
of  making  the  library  a  "  paying  proposi- 
tion "  business  is  always  willing  to  pay  well. 
Indeed,  salaries  in  business  hbraries  are 
higher  and  working  conditions  generally 
more  favorable  than  are  those  prevailing  in 
other  types  of  libraries.  Yet,  it  is  only  fair 
to  indicate  that  in  few  other  types  of  libraries 
is  the  work  more  exacting  and  arduous,  or 
the  element  of  personahty  of  the  librarian 
so  important. 

121 


CHAPTER  X 

Financial  Libraries 

Special  libraries  are  to  be  found  in 
almost  every  financial  house  of  importance. 
Whether  viewed  from  present  need  or  future 
development  such  financial  libraries  are  in- 
dispensable ;  they  are  not  only  repositories  of 
the  history  of  the  institution  with  which  they 
are  connected,  but  also  active  forces  in  widen- 
ing and  increasing  the  value  of  its  services. 

The  work  of  the  banker  of  the  present  is 
totally  different  from  that  of  the  banker  of 
the  past.  Money-changing  and  safe-keeping 
of  valuables  or  securities  are  not  to-day 
major  activities  of  any  bank.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  work  of  the  financier  touches  vitally 
at  almost  every  point  the  very  foundations  of 
economic  existence.  The  modern  banker 
must  have  a  thorough  intimacy  with  the  intri- 
cacies of  his  own  profession,  but  beyond  this 
he  must  know  or  be  in  a  position  to  learn 
quickly  the  significant  factors  of  industries 

122 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

and  establishments  other  than  his  own.  Facts 
are  basic  in  his  work ;  only  when  in  possession 
of  them  can  his  undertaking  be  accomplished 
successfully.  Generahzations  and  approxi- 
mations are  not  of  much  value  in  helping  to 
decide  the  advisability  of  making  an  invest- 
ment or  a  loan,  for  both  the  bank  customer 
and  bank  directors  have  the  right  to  expect 
that  whatever  advice  is  given  or  whatever 
action  is  taken  shall  always  first  and  foremost 
be  based  on  thorough  and  sound  information. 
Years  ago  through  correspondence,  study  of 
press  reports  and  association  with  men  of 
affairs,  the  banker  could  secure  tliis  required 
insight.  To-day,  however,  industrial  and 
economic  conditions  are  so  complex  and  so 
interrelated,  events  move  so  rapidly  and  time 
is  so  essential  an  element  in  financial  transac- 
tions, and  the  scope  of  the  work  of  the  mod- 
ern financial  house  is  so  much  larger  than 
heretofore,  that  the  means  of  the  past  are  no 
longer  suitable. 

The  interest  of  the  bank  of  the  past  was 
largely  local.  Its  clients  were  local,  its  in- 
vestments and  interests  were  local.    All  this 

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TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

is  changed.  Financial  thinking  of  the  pres- 
ent is  in  national  and  international  terms ;  the 
banker  is  required  to  have  intimate  knowl- 
edge of  affairs  and  conditions  with  w^hich  he 
has  had  no  personal  contact.  It  may  be  the 
matter  of  a  loan  to  a  foreign  city  which  the 
banker  has  never  visited,  or  of  advice  regard- 
ing an  investment  in  the  stock  of  a  steamship 
company,  the  directive  officers  of  which  he  has 
never  met,  with  whose  equipment  and  service 
he  is  unfamiliar.  Yet  he  does  his  work  with 
perfect  confidence  in  his  judgment,  because 
modern  finance  has  been  forced  to  recognize 
the  use  of  information.  The  planned  and  con- 
tinual accumulation  of  data,  and  their  scien- 
tific systematization  so  as  to  be  available  on 
short  call  is  an  important  branch  of  the 
bank's  activities.  The  Hbrarian  here  steps 
in  as  the  planner,  accumulator  and  systema- 
tizer.  To  plan  weU  he  must  be  thoroughly 
familiar  with  the  business  of  finance ;  to  accu- 
mulate sensibly  and  wisely  he  must  know  the 
needs  and  interests  of  his  own  institution ;  to 
systematize  he  must  be  trained  in  hbrary 
method.    A  good  librarian  in  a  financial 

124 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

library  is  the  right  hand  of  the  bank  executive. 
Progressive  bank  officers  recognize  this  re- 
lationship. Thus  Francis  H.  Sisson,  Vice- 
President  of  the  Guaranty  Trust  Company, 
states :  "  To-day  the  assembling  of  the  facts 
is  a  task  for  experts,  and  the  field  of  these 
experts  is  the  financial  library."  In  other 
words,  the  library  lies  at  the  heart  of  the 
financial  house.  The  latter's  existence  rests 
on  exact  information;  the  proper  source  to 
supply  this  information  is  its  library.  To 
quote  Mr.  Sisson  further:  "  The  financial 
library  is  preeminently  a  working  library. 
Into  it  are  gathered  the  materials,  in  whatever 
form,  which  the  banker  needs  in  the  course  of 
his  business,  and  that  business  is  to-day  con- 
cerned with  a  multiplicity  of  activities  simply 
astonishing  to  the  layman.  .  .  .  To-day 
the  assembling  of  facts  is  a  task  for  experts 
and  the  field  of  those  experts  is  the  financial 
library.  This  library  is  something  more  than 
a  medium  through  which  the  officers  and  em- 
ployees of  the  bank  can  obtain  immediate 
access  to  the  information  which  they  require. 
It  is  also  a  source  of  information  to  which  the 

125 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

customers  and  friends  of  the  bank  have  been 
taught  to  feel  that  they  may  come  when  in 
difficulty.  Therefore,  we  find  financial  libra- 
ries wide  in  the  scope  of  the  subjects  covered 
and  so  organized  as  to  make  easy  the  finding 
of  what  they  contain." 

This  brings  up  another  opportunity  for 
service  to  the  financial  library,  assistance  to 
the  institution's  clients.  Whatever  affects  a 
man's  purse  is  generaDy  a  source  of  concern 
to  him.  Consequently  a  bank's  clients  are 
continually  calling  upon  it  for  advice  and 
information.  Sometimes  this  is  given  by  one 
of  the  bank  officers;  frequently,  however, 
such  requests  can  be  handled  as  successfully 
through  the  library.  Recent  income  tax 
legislation,  for  example,  has  raised  a  large 
number  of  perplexing  questions  on  which 
taxpayers  have  sought  guidance  from  their 
banks.  In  many  cases  copies  of  the  law  or  of 
the  Treasmy  Regulations  have  been  re- 
quested. Many  similar  matters  are  contin- 
ually being  referred  by  clients.  The  answer- 
ing of  these  questions  contributes  toward 
building  up  a  loyal  cUentele  for  the  bank; 

126 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

in  other  words,  such  service  pays.  The  well- 
equipped  financial  reference  library,  there- 
fore, is  a  direct  business  builder  for  the  bank. 

Financial  libraries  have  still  another  use. 
This  is  in  connection  with  the  training  of 
employees.  Work  in  modern  banks  is  liighly 
speciahzed  and  there  is  on  that  account  great 
need  of  competent  and  intelhgent  workers. 
Much  of  the  work  is  clerical.  There  is,  there- 
fore, a  continual  danger  of  the  employee 
falling  into  a  rut  and  the  need  of  some  coun- 
teracting influence.  On  the  other  hand,  there 
is  the  alert  employee  eager  to  widen  his 
knowledge  of  the  banking  business.  Again, 
for  the  tired  employee,  the  library  offers  re- 
lief from  fatigue.  For  these  a  library  of  well- 
selected  books  serves  an  inspirational,  educa- 
tional and  recreational  purpose. 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  work  in  the 
financial  library,  as  in  other  special  libraries, 
is  one  of  responsibility  wherein  knowledge 
and  character  are  the  outstanding  influences 
that  make  for  success.  The  scope  of  the 
library  wiU  naturally  vary  with  the  scope  of 
the  institution.    If  the  latter  is  a  bank  carry- 

127 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

ing  on  general  banking  activities,  the  charac- 
ter of  its  informational  resources  will  be  gen- 
eral. If  it  is  an  investment  house,  its  data  will 
have  to  be  more  specific  and  detailed.  A 
house  specializing  in  public  utilities'  issues 
will  require  broad  yet  minute  information  on 
every  phase  of  pubhc  utilities'  operation. 

A  thorough  training  in  economics,  with  in- 
tensive knowledge  of  money,  credit  and  bank- 
ing is  prerequisite.  The  calls  on  and  contacts 
of  the  financial  librarian  are  such  that  a 
broad,  sound,  educational  background  is 
absolutely  necessary  if  he  is  to  be  on  the  road 
toward  the  top.  A  college  training  or  its 
equivalent,  as  weU  as  familiarity  with  library 
method,  and  knowledge  of  the  means  of  its 
practical  application  is  necessary.  Otherwise 
the  work  will  be  found  difficult.  The  libra- 
rian who  can  secm^e  a  position  in  a  bank, 
thereby  obtaining  a  practical  background  for 
further  progress,  will  find  many  tasks  simpli- 
fied since  thereby  the  viewpoint  of  the  institu- 
tion will  be  obtained,  the  work  made  more 
significant,  and  advancement  facilitated. 


128 


CHAPTER  XI 

Law  Libraries 

Few  men  are  forced  to  rely  so  extensively 
on  books  as  the  lawyer.  The  lawyers'  books 
are  the  tools  with  which  he  works;  without 
them  his  work  is  practically  impossible.  The 
law  library  is  his  workshop ;  in  that  and  in  the 
com'ts  he  must  spend  the  major  part  of  his 
time.  Yet  his  success  in  the  court-room  rests 
very  definitely  on  his  success  in  using  books, 
for  it  is  in  connection  with  these  that  he  must 
prepare  his  cases  for  trial.  In  his  law  library 
he  not  only  learns  what  the  law  is,  but  how  it 
has  been  and  is  to  be  apphed,  and  what  prece- 
dents have  been  established  which  he  must 
perforce  follow.  The  competent  attorney 
learns  early  how  to  use  the  law  library  and 
always  maintains  his  contact  with  the  more 
important  legal  literature.  To  him  the 
library  is  an  armory  wherein  he  prepares  him- 
self for  his  legal  battles,  and  if  we  follow  out 
the   analogy,   the   librarian   is   the    skilled 

9  129 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

armorer  who  helps  in  finding  the  armor  that 
will  make  him  impervious  to  attack.  So  long 
as  the  lawyer  continues  his  practice,  he  must 
maintain  his  contact  with  the  law  library. 

Law  libraries  divide  themselves  into  six 
broad  classes:  (1)  The  law  school  library; 
(2)  the  association  law  library;  (3)  the  pri- 
vate law  library;  (4)  the  proprietary  or  pri- 
vate law  library,  the  use  of  which  is  permis- 
sible at  a  fixed  subscription  or  rental ;  (5)  the 
cornet  law  library,  and  (6)  the  state  law 
library.  From  this  it  appears  that  law  libra- 
ries may  exist  for  and  may  be  maintained  by 
the  school,  by  the  individual  or  a  group  of 
individuals,  by  the  bench  or  by  the  bar,  and 
further  that  the  expense  may  be  borne  by  the 
public  or  by  those  who  make  use  of  the 
library.  But  while  each  type  of  law  library 
may  serve  its  special  clientele  in  its  own  defi- 
nite way,  in  the  materials  with  which  they 
deal  and  in  their  use  of  these,  all  law  libraries 
are  very  much  alike.  They  all  deal  with  the 
law,  and  modern  law  has  a  definite  literature 
of  its  own. 

The  law  as  it  concerns  the  librarian,  and 

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TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

the  lawyer  as  well,  consists  of  statute  law  and 
case  law.  The  former  is  made  by  legisla- 
tures, the  latter  by  the  courts.  Statute  law 
consists  of  session  laws,  and  compilations  and 
codifications  of  existing  laws.  Case  law  or 
court  law  consists  mainly  of  judicial  deci- 
sions. Such  decisions  are  contained  in  law 
reports.  Written  opinions  of  federal  and 
state  courts  are  reported  either  officially  or 
unofficially.  Appellate  courts  of  last  resort 
usually  have  an  official  reporter  who  prepares 
the  court's  opinions  for  publication.  Private 
law  pubhshers  also  issue  special  series  of  re- 
ports containing  selected  cases  of  importance 
or  opinions  not  officially  reported.  Court  de- 
cisions are  also  classified  in  summarized  form 
in  law  digests.  The  legal  treatise  or  textbook 
conmionly  discusses  the  meaning,  interpreta- 
tion, significance  and  development  of  statute 
and  case  law  with  citations  of  laws  and  cases 
in  point.  The  law  encyclopedia  aims  to  clas- 
sify the  whole  body  of  law  under  appropri- 
ately selected,  alphabetically  arranged  heads. 
General  principles  are  stated  in  the  text  and 
citations  of  cases  are  given  in  notes.     The 

131 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

cyclopedia  thus  stands  between  the  digest  and 
the  textbook. 

Every  law  library  contains  statutes,  re- 
ports, digests,  cyclopedia  and  textbooks. 
Statutes  of  course  are  basic ;  upon  them  and 
their  interpretations  the  others  rest.  Hardly 
less  important  are  the  collections  of  law  re- 
ports of  the  state  and  federal  courts.  The 
larger  part  of  any  law  library  is  generally 
given  over  to  its  collections  of  law  reports. 
The  reports  of  decisions  of  law  cases  of  fed- 
eral and  state  courts  were  contained  in  1850 
in  980  volumes.  In  1865  the  number  of  vol- 
umes had  grown  to  1820,  in  1880  to  3230,  in 
1895  to  6300,  in  1905  to  about  9000. 

In  addition,  the  efficient  law  library  finds 
it  necessary  to  have  the  statutes  and  reports 
of  other  countries,  particularly  of  Great 
Britain.  It  is  seen  at  once  that  space  is  a 
most  important  factor  in  any  law  library. 
The  individual  attorney,  as  well  as  the  mod- 
ern firm  of  lawyers,  finds  it  extremely  difficult 
to  maintain  such  a  complete  working  library 
as  was  the  custom  in  the  United  States  among 
lawyers  of  a  previous  generation.    More  and 

132 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

more  the  tendency  is  coming  to  be  for  the 
lawyer  to  either  join  a  law  association, 
thereby  acquiring  the  privilege  of  using  the 
association  law  library,  or  to  engage  with 
others  in  a  cooperative  venture  and  to  form 
a  proprietary  or  subscription  law  library. 
In  some  buildings  in  several  of  the  larger 
cities,  where  the  tenants  are  mainly  or  ex- 
clusively lawyers,  law  libraries  accessible  to 
the  tenants  are  maintained  by  the  owners  of 
the  buildings. 

The  more  common  technical  librar37'  prob- 
lems met  with  in  the  general  library  appear 
only  as  minor  questions  in  the  law  library. 
Law  reports  are  issued  serially,  each  volume 
being  numbered  in  order  of  issue ;  to  be  most 
serviceable  the  best  practice  favors  placing 
them  on  shelves  arranged  alphabetically  by 
state  or  country,  and  under  each  state  serially 
by  nimiber.  The  same  arrangement  is  gener- 
ally followed  with  statutes.  Textbooks  are 
generally  confined  to  specific  subjects,  and 
are  commonly  arranged  alphabetically  by 
author  under  each  subject.    It  is  quite  clear, 

133 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

therefore,  that  the  problem  of  classification 
is  not  complex  in  the  law  library. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  law  library  is  first 
and  foremost  a  reference  library.  As  vol- 
umes must  be  so  arranged  that  they  are  freely 
and  easily  accessible,  so  the  law  librarian 
must  be  a  master  in  their  use.  He  must  be 
familiar  with  every  law  tool,  must  keep  con- 
tinually in  close  contact  with  the  acts  of  legis- 
latures and  decisions  of  courts,  but  always  he 
must  know  where  to  find  the  law.  It  is  not 
necessary  that  he  be  a  lawyer  to  do  his  work 
well.  It  is  necessary,  however,  that  he  have 
an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  saUent 
facts  in  the  development  of  law,  that  he 
understand  sympathetically  the  work  of  the 
lawyer,  the  legislator  and  the  judge. 

In  the  law  library  nothing  is  so  certain  to 
lead  to  failure  as  superficiahty.  Thorough- 
ness is  indispensable  to  successful  work  in  it. 
Added  to  that,  an  ability  to  appreciate  the 
importance  of  detail,  the  power  to  concen- 
trate on  a  specific  problem  and  follow  it 
through  the  maze  of  legal  reports  until  a  solu- 
tion is  reached,   a  sense  of  accuracy  and 

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TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

always  a  willingness  to  put  one's  best  efforts 
at  the  disposal  of  others,  are  prerequisites. 
The  best  preparation  for  work  in  a  law 
library  is  practical  experience  in  such  a 
library  as  an  understudy.  Law  librarians 
are  almost  unanimous  in  the  opinion  that  the 
law  library  is  the  best  training  school  for 
work  in  their  field. 


135 


CHAPTER  XII 

Medical  and  Institutional  Libraries 

The  famous  physician,  Sir  William  Osier, 
has  said  "  To  study  medicine  without  books  is 
to  sail  on  an  uncharted  sea,  while  to  study 
without  seeing  patients  is  not  to  go  to  sea  at 
all."  In  few  fields  of  science  is  the  need  of 
constant  reference  to  printed  sources  so 
great.  The  modern  physician  finds  it  neces- 
sary in  his  practice  to  have  a  working  Hbrary 
of  the  best  textbooks  and  journals.  Fre- 
quently, too,  he  will  join  his  local  medical 
society  so  as  to  have  access  to  the  library 
which  such  societies  generally  maintain.  The 
true  doctor  is  ever  an  earnest  student.  In  his 
work  he  continually  encounters  new  cases  and 
new  problems ;  thus  he  is  forced  to  consult  the 
experience  of  others.  Opportunity  for  con- 
sultation with  colleagues  of  superior  training 
not  being  always  available,  his  next  best  re- 
course is  reference  to  books  and  journals. 
The  physician's  education  is  in  a  real  sense 

136 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

never  completed ;  the  library,  like  the  labora- 
tory, is  indispensable  to  his  work,  and  both 
contribute  in  no  small  degree  to  his  success. 

The  number  of  medical  libraries  in  the 
world  in  1914  was  312;  in  the  United  States 
alone  there  were  in  1917  no  less  than  174,  or 
more  than  half  the  total  number  in  existence. 

Medical  libraries  are  broadly  of  two  kinds : 
First,  general  medical  libraries,  such  as  the 
academy  medical  or  the  local,  district  or 
county  medical  society  libraries,  and,  second, 
working  libraries,  generally  in  connection 
with  hospitals,  dispensaries,  medical  colleges, 
laboratories  and  sanatoria.  The  first  of 
these  are  more  for  the  medical  student,  the 
general  practitioner  or  for  the  specialist ;  the 
second  are  more  specifically  for  the  use  of  the 
staff,  attendants  and  nurses. 

Because  of  the  new  discoveries,  new  experi- 
ments and  better  knowledge  medical  litera- 
ture is  continually  growing  in  quantity,  but 
at  the  same  time  is  constantly  becoming 
obsolete,  A  quarter  of  a  century  ago  John 
S.  Billings,  one  of  America's  great  library 
organizers,    and    undoubtedly   its   greatest 

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TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

medical  librarian,  estimated  that  less  than 
10  per  cent,  of  medical  literature  is  of  value 
after  ten  years,  and  present  opinion  would 
indicate  that  to-day  this  proportion  is  even 
still  less.  Compendious  reference  books  at 
one  time  so  prolific  and  so  popular  are  con- 
stantly forced  to  the  background  by  new 
works  and  new  editions.  Textbooks  con- 
forming to  the  latest  opinion  and  practice, 
even  by  the  time  they  are  placed  on  the 
market,  are  somewhat  out  of  date.  In  medi- 
cine as  in  the  other  sciences,  the  latest  de- 
velopments are  to  be  traced  through  the 
medical  journal,  the  monograph,  the  labora- 
tory study,  the  government  document,  and 
the  society  proceedings  or  transactions.  Yet 
the  caution  of  Dr.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes, 
that  "  there  is  a  dead  medical  literature,  as 
there  is  a  live  one,"  and  that  "  all  that  is 
ancient  is  not  dead,  all  that  is  live  is  not  mod- 
ern," should  be  remembered. 

From  all  this  two  conclusions  may  be 
drawn.  First,  the  bulk  of  the  hterature  is 
so  much  on  the  increase  that  mastery  of  the 
technical  problems  involved  in  its  proper  care 

138 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

and  use  is  fundamental.  Secondly,  the  litera- 
ture is  so  complex  and  is  being  so  continually 
displaced  by  new  material,  that  a  thorough 
familiarity  with  medical  nomenclature  and 
a  good  knowledge  of  medicine  and  of  the 
more  important  aspects  of  medical  practice 
is  equally  essential. 

Indeed  it  may  be  noted  that  the  adminis- 
tration of  medical  libraries  is  generally  in 
charge  of  graduate  physicians,  and  that  medi- 
cal librarians  invariably  lay  greater  stress  on 
knowledge  of  medicine  and  of  medical  litera- 
ture than  on  library  technic.  This  may  be 
due  as  much  to  the  fact  that  but  few  of  those 
at  the  head  of  medical  libraries  are  graduates 
of  hbrary  schools  as  to  the  failure  of  the 
schools  to  give  any  special  training  for  those 
who  plan  to  work  in  medical  libraries.  How- 
ever, those  who  are  charged  with  the  technical 
work  of  the  medical  library  are  invariably 
graduates  of  library  schools  or  have  had  ex- 
perience in  libraries.  But  the  important  fact 
to  note  is  that  training  is  essential.  Courses 
in  medicine,  and  if  possible  graduation  from 
a  medical  college  with  supplementary  train- 

139 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

ing  in  a  library  school  or  first-rate  library,  is 
undoubtedly  the  best  way  to  success  in  the 
medical  library. 

Allied  in  certain  ways  to  the  medical 
library,  although  differing  from  it  at  times 
both  in  scope  and  method  of  work,  is  the  insti- 
tutional library.  During  the  last  decade 
libraries  have  been  used  with  much  success  in 
connection  with  those  physically  or  mentally 
unwell,  and  also  with  others — delinquents, 
prisoners,  and  those  confined  for  one  reason 
or  another  in  institutions.  Among  such  in- 
stitutions may  be  named  the  hospital,  the 
sanitarium,  the  asylum  for  the  feeble-minded, 
the  insane,  the  blind,  the  deaf,  the  dumb,  the 
reformatory,  the  prison,  the  school  for  juve- 
nile delinquents,  the  home  for  inebriates  and 
for  the  aged  and  infirm.  All  these  institu- 
tions, it  will  be  noted,  are  concerned  with  the 
custodial  care  of  those  who  are  either  men- 
tally, physically,  educationally,  or  in  some 
other  way  subnormal.  The  primary  motive  of 
those  to  whom  the  care  of  these  dependents, 
delinquents  and  defectives  is  entrusted  is,  if 

140 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

possible,  to  restore  their  charges  to  normality 
and  to  economic  self-dependence. 

That  certain  books  may  help  as  a  means  of 
diversion  for  persons  afflicted  with  some  form 
of  mental  disease  or  physical  ailment  is  now 
well  recognized.  Such  books  being  rather 
for  recreation  than  for  instruction,  must  not 
require  close  attention  or  concentration.  Fic- 
tion, biography,  travel,  books  of  outdoor  life 
and  light  scientific  literature  have  proved 
themselves  best,  but  for  those  too  ill  to  read, 
illustrated  books  and  picture  books  are  to  be 
preferred.  The  library  in  the  hospital  and 
sanitarium,  where  properly  administered  and 
used,  is  found  helpful  in  speeding  convales- 
cence and  in  preventing  nervous  diseases  and 
incipient  dementia.  It  is  an  aid  in  the  educa- 
tion of  the  feeble-minded,  in  developing 
higher  ideals,  morale  and  improving  the  men- 
tality of  those  confined  in  prisons  and  re- 
form schools. 

Thus  from  a  therapeutic  and  educational 
standpoint,  these  hbraries  are  of  immeasur- 
able value.  But  they  have  also  won  favorable 
recognition  as  a  source  of  happiness  to  those 

141 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

who  are  shut  off  from  the  outside  world  and 
sometimes  from  their  fellows.  Happiness  is 
not  only  an  incentive  to  poise,  but  also  a  con- 
dition predisposing  to  mental  health.  The 
institutional  library  has  therefore  come  to  be 
welcomed  by  physician,  nurse  and  inmate. 
Sometimes  it  is  managed  by  a  nurse,  some- 
times by  a  hbrarian,  sometimes  as  effectively 
by  an  inmate,  although  in  the  latter  case 
supervision  is  necessary. 

In  Iowa  and  Minnesota  the  organization 
of  all  institutional  libraries  is  in  the  hands 
of  a  state  library  organizer  under  the  State 
Board  of  Control.  In  Nebraska  the  State 
Library  Commission  supervises  the  institu- 
tional work.  In  some  cases  a  small  yearly 
contribution  from  each  state  institution  en- 
ables the  purchase  of  many  books  which  are 
then  sent  about  as  travelhng  libraries.  Thus 
in  Minnesota  each  hospital  pays  $50,  for 
which  it  receives  the  best  books  in  turn,  and 
at  the  end  of  the  year  becomes  the  possessor 
of  fifty  volumes  as  a  permanent  addition  to 
its  library. 

The  main  requirements  of  ^n  institutional 

142 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

library  are  an  adequate  annual  appropria- 
tion, a  trained  librarian  and  an  organized  cen- 
tral library.  Of  the  three  the  librarian  is  the 
most  important.  She  must  know  how  to 
select  books  wisely  and  economically,  how  to 
classify  and  to  catalog  them,  how  to  install 
such  methods  of  record  keeping  and  use  as 
are  common  to  efficient  library  administra- 
tion, and  above  all  how  to  bring  book  and 
reader  together.  Hers  being  a  work  akin  in 
certain  respects  to  hospital  social  service,  she 
must  have  the  willingness  as  well  as  the  abil- 
ity to  serve,  and,  in  a  measure,  the  attitude 
of  the  social  worker.  A  cheerful  spirit,  a 
broad,  human  sympathy,  and  a  kindly,  but 
not  sentimental  disposition,  are  great  helps  in 
this  field.  For  the  institutional  hbrarian  is 
not  merely  a  dispenser  of  books.  Hers  is  an 
opportunity  for  influence  on  those  in  the 
shadow  of  ill-health  and  imprisonment,  who 
are  apt  to  brood  and  to  regard  the  future 
with  misgiving.  Can  she  help  them  back 
to  health  and  to  self-support?  That  is  her 
opportunity  and  her  measure  of  success. 
There  is  yet  another  phase  of  the  work  of 

143 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

the  institutional  library.  In  some  medical 
institutions  the  library  is  as  much  an  active 
aid  in  scientific  research  as  in  custodial  care. 
Never  was  the  dependence  on  printed  sources 
or  on  organized  information  bureaus  so  great. 
The  medical  library  connected  with  the  hos- 
pital or  laboratory  is  winning  as  secure  a 
place  for  itself  as  the  business  library  has  in 
its  particular  sphere.  To  it  comes  the  sur- 
geon in  doubt  regarding  the  technic  of  an 
operation  which  he  must  perform,  the  physi- 
cian confronted  with  a  difficult  case,  the 
house  officer,  the  nurse  and  the  medical  stu- 
dent. Thus  Doctor  Osier  writes :  "  Post- 
graduate education  is  largely  in  the  hands 
of  the  hbraries.  Take  an  illustration  of  my 
own  experience  the  last  ten  days.  In  a  com- 
plicated unusual  type  of  war-shock  case  about 
which  I  asked  my  own  books  in  vain,  the 
answer  was  easily  found  in  the  Royal  Society 
of  Medicine  Library."  He  states  also  that: 
"  For  the  teacher  and  the  worker  a  .  .  . 
library  ...  is  indispensable.  They  must 
know  the  world's  best  work  and  know  it  at 
once.    They  mint  and  make  current  coin  the 

144 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

ore  so  widely  scattered  in  journals,  transac- 
tions and  monographs.  The  splendid  collec- 
tions which  now  exist  in  five  or  six  of  our 
cities,  and  the  unique  opportunities  of  the 
Surgeon  General's  Library,  have  done  much 
to  give  to  American  medicine  a  thoroughly 
eclectic  character." 

In  the  hospital  hbrary,  for  example,  there 
are  medical  records  to  be  kept,  analyzed,  re- 
corded and  filed.  Case  histories  must  be 
copied  and  abstracted,  and  the  records  them- 
selves to  be  helpful  must  be  cataloged  by 
anatomical  region  affected,  by  diagnosis  and 
by  other  important  features.  In  the  medical 
as  in  other  types  of  libraries,  the  librarian 
must  play  the  part  of  a  walking  encyclopedia 
and  a  perpetual  mine  of  information.  Hers 
is  a  work  rarely  lacking  in  himaan  interest 
and  in  inspirational  contact.  But  to  do  her 
work  well,  she  must  know.  Knowledge  is 
disciplined  thought  and  the  Ubrarian  who  has 
trained  herself  for  disciplined  thinking  and 
work  will  find  in  her  field,  be  it  great  or  small, 
the  same  joys  and  the  same  rewards  that 
come  to  the  executive  and  to  the  skilled  assist- 
ant in  other  branches  of  human  activity. 

10  145 


CHAPTER  XIII 

Technical  Libeaeies 

Scientific  research  in  industry  is  yet  in  its 
infancy.  It  has,  however,  received  a  great 
impetus  from  the  war  and  both  in  the  United 
States  and  in  England  the  Government  is 
officially  aiding  in  its  extension. 

In  1915  the  Society  of  Chemical  Industry 
in  England,  after  extended  discussion  at  its 
annual  meeting,  passed  a  resolution  "  that  the 
estabhshment  of  technical  hbraries  through- 
out the  counties  is  of  urgent  material 
importance."  The  Committee  on  Adult 
Education  of  the  British  Ministry  of  Recon- 
struction has  in  its  recent  reports  pointed  to 
the  lack  of  f acihties  for  technical  education 
and  has  recommended  the  wider  extension  of 
technical  libraries  throughout  the  United 
Kingdom.  The  Privy  Council  has  been 
urging  associations  of  British  employers  to 
engage  in  industrial  research,  and  has  been 

146 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

assisting  them  to  establish  laboratories  and 
libraries  to  facilitate  such  research. 

The  comparative  paucity  of  technical 
libraries  in  Great  Britain  creates  a  problem 
more  difficult  than  that  confronting  the 
United  States,  for  in  our  own  country  pubhc 
libraries  are  much  more  highly  developed, 
almost  all  of  the  larger  and  many  of  the 
smaller  having  special  technical  collections. 
In  Los  Angeles,  Grand  Rapids,  Pittsburgh, 
Boston  and  New  York,  for  example,  special 
technology  departments  have  been  estab- 
lished in  the  local  public  libraries. 

That  the  special  library  has  a  fundamental 
place  side  by  side  with  the  laboratory  has  been 
definitely  recognized  by  experts.  Thus 
Arthur  D.  Little,  one  of  America's  leading 
chemists,  in  his  presidential  address  before 
the  American  Chemical  Society  in  1913  on 
the  subject  of  "  Industrial  Research  in 
America,"  stated  that  "  These  laboratories 
should  each  be  developed  around  a  special 
Hbrary,  the  business  of  which  should  be  to 
collect,  compile  and  classify  in  a  way  to  make 
all  instantly  available,  every  scrap  of  infor- 
147 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

mation  bearing  upon  the  materials,  methods, 
products  and  requirements  of  the  industry 
concerned.  Modern  progress  can  no  longer 
depend  upon  accidental  discoveries.  Each 
advance  in  industrial  science  must  be  studied, 
organized  and  fought  like  a  military  cam- 
paign." Approached  recently  regarding  his 
attitude  on  the  same  subject.  Doctor  Little 
stated:  "  In  the  seven  years  which  have 
elapsed  since  that  was  written  my  conviction 
of  the  essential  soundness  of  the  proposition 
there  laid  down  has  broadened,  until  I  now 
regard  the  special  library  as  not  merely  the 
heart,  but  the  arterial  system  as  well  of  any 
adequately  organized  research  laboratoay. 
As  it  is  the  function  of  such  a  laboratory  to 
extend  our  knowledge,  it  cannot  function 
properly  unless  its  working  units  are 
strengthened  and  refreshed  and  stimulated 
by  the  constant  stream  of  facts,  theories,  and 
opinions  which  it  is  the  purpose  of  the  library 
to  supply.  Moreover,  since  research  is  essen- 
tially pioneering,  the  pioneer  should  start 
from  the  borderland  of  that  great  body  of 
organized  knowledge  which  we  call  science, 

148 


TRAINIxNG  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

with  which  his  lines  of  communication  must 
be  well  maintained  as  he  advances.  The 
scientific  imagination  is  merely  logic  in  flight, 
and  the  flight  must  start  from  the  solid 
ground  of  fact." 

In  any  scientific  research  study  absolute 
familiarity  with  the  state  of  knowledge  and 
of  experimentation  to  the  time  of  inquiry  is 
essential.  Thorough  acquaintance  with  ex- 
periments made  and  with  theories  advanced 
is  basic  to  further  progress.  Andrew  Car- 
negie has  said:  "  In  the  course  of  my  experi- 
ence as  a  manufacturer,  I  know  our  firm  has 
made  many  mistakes  by  neglecting  one  sim- 
ple rule,  never  to  undertake  anything  new 
until  your  managers  have  had  opportunity  to 
examine  everything  that  has  been  done 
throughout  the  world  in  that  department. 
Neglect  of  this  has  cost  us  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  dollars  and  we  have  become  wise." 

A  technical  library  has  been  defined  as  "  a 
collection  of  books  and  other  material  relat- 
ing to  the  application  of  science  to  industry, 
and,  specifically,  to  manufacturing  indus- 
tries, engineering  and  applied  chemistry." 

149 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

The  technical  library  is  not  merely  a  re- 
pository. Well  classified  and  cataloged  as 
may  be  its  books  and  pamphlets,  complete  as 
may  be  its  collection  of  facts,  excellent  in- 
deed as  may  be  the  library  technic  displayed, 
it  falls  short  of  its  ultimate  purpose  if  it  does 
not  consciously  and  aggressively  reach  out 
for  the  information  necessary  in  the  work  of 
the  estabhshment  with  which  it  is  connected 
and  bring  it  promptly  and  in  proper  form 
to  the  attention  of  those  who  may  profit  by  it. 
The  librarian  in  the  technical  library  must 
have  then  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  me- 
chanics of  librarianship.  Order  and  accu- 
racy in  the  technical  hbrary  as  in  any  other, 
are  basic  to  satisfactory  work;  without  the 
ability  to  organize  scientifically  the  material 
which  may  come  into  the  library,  the  libra- 
rian is  at  sea  and  the  information  is  as  value- 
less as  if  it  did  not  exist.  Knowledge  of 
library  technic  is  in  itself,  however,  not  sufii- 
cient;  the  librarian  must  have  the  capacity 
of  applying  it  to  the  special  material  and 
problems  at  hand.  A  certain  amount  of  in- 
genuity is  frequently  required;  the  librarian 

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TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

with  a  "  single  track  mind  "  is  apt  to  find  the 
work  beyond  his  abihties. 

Organization  of  the  material  for  use  is  only 
the  first  step.  To  be  "  a  paying  proposi- 
tion "  the  technical  library  must  actually  be 
used.  This  means  that  the  librarian  must 
sense  the  significance  of  the  hbrary  accessions 
and  be  able  to  discriminate  between  the  im- 
portant and  the  unimportant,  between  the 
valuable  and  the  worthless.  The  average 
person  regards  all  printed  matter  with  a  cer- 
tain reverence  and  attaches  the  same  weight 
to  one  printed  article  as  to  another.  The 
technical  librarian,  however,  must  be  a 
speciaUst,  and  if  he  is  actually  to  make  his 
position  felt  and  have  his  library  regarded 
on  a  parity  with  other  departments,  he  must 
be  capable  of  advising  regarding  not  only 
available  literature  on  a  given  topic  within 
the  scope  of  the  library,  but  also  as  to  its  re- 
liability. He  has  been  referred  to  as  the  con- 
sulting analyst  in  the  use  of  print.  To  be 
able  to  advise,  knowledge  is  obviously  neces- 
sary. The  technical  librarian  must,  therefore, 
possess  a  thorough  understanding  of  the 

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TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

science  or  sciences  with  which  his  work  brings 
him  in  contact,  and  an  intimate  familiarity 
with  its  literature.  A  soimd  general  educa- 
tion is  equally  essential.  Technical  librarians 
who  have  been  approached  for  an  opinion  are 
all  agreed  that  the  man  or  woman  looking 
forward  to  a  successful  career  in  the  work 
should  have  at  least  a  college  education  or  its 
equivalent.  Specializing  in  the  sciences,  with 
some  laboratory  work,  is  also  advised. 

The  technical  librarian  must  also  possess 
what  is  referred  to  by  one  as  "  the  analyzing 
knack:  That  is  to  say,  the  ability  to  dig  up 
all  the  factors  involved  in  the  special  problem 
in  hand,  to  separate  the  essential  from  the 
non-essential  and  to  present  in  the  last  degree 
of  condensation  all  the  facts  pertinent 
thereto."  The  preparation  of  such  reports  is 
in  itself  a  part  of  research.  To  prepare  them 
the  librarian  must  know  intimately  every 
activity  of  the  organization  of  which  the 
library  is  a  part,  and  the  work  on  which 
various  departments  and  persons  are  en- 
gaged. In  addition,  a  sense  of  discrimination 
regarding  the  important  and  useful  infor- 

152 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

mation,  and  the  ability  to  condense  this  into 
a  clear,  short,  yet  complete  monogi^aph,  kept 
constantly  up  to  date,  is  necessary.  The 
preparation  of  such  reports  and  descriptive 
bibliographies  is  an  important  function  of 
the  technical  hbrarian. 

A  prominent  technical  librarian,  C.  B. 
Fairchild,  of  the  Philadelphia  Rapid  Transit 
Company,  has  said:  "  It  is  a  real  job  for  any 
man  or  woman.  It  calls  for  breadth  of  vision, 
highly  specialized  training,  a  degree  of  Uter- 
ary  capacity,  infinite  patience,  a  non-quench- 
able  cheerfulness,  and,  above  all,  the  analyti- 
cal instinct.  The  library  itself  is  not  the  chief 
requisite,  but  rather  the  knowledge  of  where 
and  how  the  essential  information  can  be 
obtained.  The  sources  of  information  to  be 
utihzed  are  myriad,  and  I  stop  to  mention 
only  two  as  typical,  namely,  the  columns  of 
the  technical  magazines  and  correspondence 
with  other  specializing  librarians." 

That  the  next  decade  will  see  the  establish- 
ment in  industry,  by  individual  manufac- 
turers, corporations  or  associations  of  techni- 
cal and  engineering  libraries  on  a  large  scale 

153 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

is  certain.  As  has  already  been  indicated,  the 
war  has  given  a  great  impetus  to  industrial 
research.  Governments  and  scientific  asso- 
ciations are  actually  engaged  in  educating 
industrialists  as  to  the  importance  of  research 
to  national  welfare.  Prominent  students  and 
scientists  have  been  no  less  outspoken.  It 
would  seem,  therefore,  that  the  technical 
library  will  offer  a  continually  expanding 
opportunity  for  service. 


154 


CHAPTER  XIV 

Theological  Libraries 

Theological  libraries  may  be  divided, 
either  according  to  their  accessibility  or  non- 
accessibility  to  the  public,  or  according  to 
their  connection  with  specific  institutions, 
such  as  the  seminary,  the  church,  the  cathe- 
dral, the  Sunday  school,  the  religious  associa- 
tion or  society,  the  mission,  reading  room 
or  settlement. 

The  priestly  class  has  from  time  immemo- 
rial had  a  reputation  for  learning,  the  word 
doctrine  itself  meaning  nothing  else  than 
teaching.  The  clergy  were  the  teachers  of 
men  before  modern  educational  methods 
came  into  being,  and  they  have  not  only  been 
the  makers  but  the  preservers  and  dissemina- 
tors of  many  books.  It  is,  therefore,  not  sur- 
prising to  find  almost  every  priest,  minister, 
or  other  religious  teacher  supplied  with  an 
effective  library  of  his  own  or  possessed  of 
the  right  of  access  to  some  available  general 

155 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

theological  library,  or  to  one  maintained  by 
his  particular  sect  or  denomination.  These 
libraries  are  not  necessarily  confined  to  works 
on  religion  and  ethics.  Economic  and  social 
problems  so  touch  life  at  every  point,  that  he 
who  would  truly  minister  to  his  flock  and 
appreciate  the  conditions  under  which  men 
live  and  labor,  must  have  in  addition  to  other 
literature  a  certain  number  of  the  better 
works  on  economics  and  sociology. 

Most  of  the  public  theological  hbraries  are 
found  in  connection  with  theological  semi- 
naries or  schools.  In  many  cases  the  latter  are 
departments  of  larger  institutions.  Thus  the 
Yale  Theological  Seminary  is  a  part  of  Yale 
University,  the  Andover-Harvard  Theo- 
logical Seminary  a  department  of  Harvard, 
the  Boston  University  Theological  School  a 
college  within  Boston  University.  The  libra- 
ries of  such  theological  schools  will  differ 
necessarily  from  those  that  are  not  main- 
tained as  parts  of  universities  or  other  institu- 
tion. They  can  depend  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent on  the  large  general  university  library; 
hence  their  own  collections  are  apt  to  be  small 

156 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

in  size  and  likely  to  be  confined  solely  to  relig- 
ious literature.  This  is  not  the  case  with  the 
independent  theological  library  cut  off  from 
access  to  neighboring  general  libraries ;  there- 
fore, while  concentrating  its  energy  on  theo- 
logical literature,  it  will  of  necessity  be  forced 
to  devote  much  attention  to  building  up  a 
general  collection. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  library  is  the  heart 
of  the  theological  seminary.  Certain  it  is  that 
it  is  a  great  influence  in  ministerial  education 
and  in  religious  research,  and  an  important 
aid  in  assuring  an  informed  and  cultured 
clergy.  Moreover,  if  the  clergy  are  to  know 
whatever  is  to  be  said  in  favor  of  and  against 
each  doctrine  which  they  are  called  upon  to 
uphold,  they  must  be  familiar  with  the  con- 
tents of  books  and  will  have  need  of  reference 
to  many  authoritative  works.  Thus  candi- 
dates for  the  D.D.  degree  in  Cathohc  uni- 
versities and  seminaries  are  required  in  the 
presence  of  learned  theologians  to  defend 
successfully  a  number  of  difficult  theses.  This 
they  can  do  after  they  have  learnt  how  to 

167 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

use  successfully  the  theological  libraries  to 
which  they  have  access. 

Theological  libraries  are  attached  to  most 
Episcopal  residences;  in  addition  such  de- 
nominational associations  as  the  American 
Unitarian  Association  and  the  American 
Congregational  Association  also  have  well- 
developed  libraries  devoted  mainly  to  the 
literature  of  their  respective  denominations. 
In  the  General  Theological  Library  at  Bos- 
ton, Mass.,  all  ordained  clergymen  in  New 
England  have  the  privilege  of  borrowing 
books ;  those  who  hve  more  than  twenty  miles 
from  Boston  may  have  books  sent  to  them 
by  mail,  the  postage  both  ways  in  such  cases 
being  met  by  the  library.  This  library,  which 
is  unique  in  many  respects,  was  formed  in 
1860  by  several  prominent  clergymen  of  dif- 
ferent denominations,  who  associated  them- 
selves as  "  proprietors  of  theological  and 
religious  books  of  all  communions." 

To  those  unfamiliar  with  the  activities  of 
special  libraries,  work  in  the  theological 
library  does  not  appear  particularly  attrac- 
tive.   This  is  due  partly  to  failure  to  appre- 

158 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

ciate  the  significance  of  theology  as  a  pro- 
fession, partly  to  inability  to  understand  the 
place  and  practical  contribution  of  religion  in 
daily  life.  The  modern  clergyman  in  his 
work  acts  as  a  teacher,  counsellor,  inspirer, 
consoler,  social  worker  and  lecturer.  Like 
men  in  other  professions,  he  must  remain 
the  greater  part  of  his  life  a  student.  Thus, 
it  is  that  the  theological  library  comes  to  be 
to  him  an  indispensable  tool. 

Training  in  the  fundamentals  of  librarian- 
ship  is  naturally  prerequisite.  But  beyond 
this  the  librarian  in  the  theological  hbrary 
should  have  a  broad  general  education,  a 
familiarity  with  church  history  and  literature, 
and  a  willingness  to  be  of  personal  service. 

The  Sunday-school  library  differs  from  the 
general  theological  library  in  that  its  aim  is 
confined  mainly  to  meeting  educational 
needs.  Since  the  purpose  of  the  Sunday 
school  is  education,  the  Sunday-school  library 
is  an  agency  to  further  religious  education. 
Those  whom  it  serves  are  of  necessity  divided 
into  various  groups  according  to  age,  mental- 
ity and  familiarity  with  religious  subjects, 

159 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

hence  the  Sunday-school  hbrary  must  be 
a  graded  library.  Such  material  as  it  has  is 
kept  for  a  specific  purpose ;  irrelevant  matter 
has  no  place  on  its  shelves. 

The  Sunday-school  hbrary  has  not  only 
story  books  for  the  young,  but  also  illustrative 
material  in  the  form  of  models,  maps  and  pic- 
tures to  make  the  Bible  study  and  other  parts 
of  the  cmTiculum  real  and  vivid.  It  gener- 
ally has  also  a  fair  collection  of  missionary 
literature  and  of  the  better  religious  works, 
a  selected  list  of  books  on  the  art  of  teaching 
and  on  educational  psychology,  copies  of 
local  and  other  rehgious  papers  and  such 
Smiday-school  magazines  as  are  needed. 
Questions  relating  to  rehgious  music,  to 
preparations  of  programs  for  specific  occa- 
sions, such  as  Easter,  Christmas,  holy  days  or 
occasions  of  significance  in  the  history  and 
development  of  religion,  to  home  reading 
either  of  children  or  gi'o\\Ti  persons  may  come 
to  it,  and  the  librarian  must  be  prepared  to 
give  competent  advice  and  assistance.  Since 
Sunday-school  libraries  are  designed  to  serve 
teachers  as  well  as  students,  whether  grown 

160 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

persons  or  the  young,  the  library  will,  there- 
fore, not  only  be  the  workroom  but  also  the 
museum  of  the  Sunday  school. 

The  Sunday-school  librarian  should  have 
in  addition  to  a  knowledge  of  the  mechanics 
of  library  science,  a  good  training  in  religious 
education.  Such  training  may  be  obtained 
from  courses  in  a  university  or  theological 
school,  or  through  teacher-training  institutes 
or  courses  in  religious  education  in  the  com- 
munity in  which  the  student  resides.  A 
knowledge  of  the  fundamentals  of  Sunday- 
school  organization  and  management,  and, 
even  more  important,  a  thorough  Biblical 
background  are  indispensable. 


11  161 


CHAPTER  XV 

State,   Legislative  Reference  and 
Municipal  Reference  Libraries 

The  importance  of  having  at  the  seat  of 
government  in  each  state  a  library  for  the 
use  of  state  officials  and  employees,  as  well  as 
for  the  executive,  legislative  and  judicial  de- 
partments of  government  was  early  recog- 
nized by  ahnost  all  of  the  states.  The  same 
reasons  that  have  impelled  the  formation  of 
other  types  of  libraries  operated  in  the  case 
of  the  state  Hbraries. 

In  the  first  place,  the  state  library  serves  as 
a  repository  for  and  a  place  of  reference  to 
state  documents.  Each  of  the  states  pub- 
lishes and  preserves  its  own  official  records. 
Such  records  include  the  journals  of  both 
houses  of  the  state  legislature,  bills  or  resolu- 
tions introduced  in  or  passed  by  either  house, 
reports  by  legislative  committees  or  special 
bodies  authorized  by  the  state,  state  laws  and 
legislative  manuals,  decisions  of  the  supreme 

162 


School  librarie^i  form  au  important  part  of  education  both  in  the  high  school  us  pictured 
above  and  the  elementary  school  shown  below. 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

court  and  other  courts  of  appeal,  annual  re- 
ports of  the  various  state  officials,  and  those 
of  departments  or  institutions,  such  as  the 
departments  of  agriculture,  industry  or  labor 
and  health,  the  state  hospitals,  the  institu- 
tions for  the  deaf,  dumb,  blind,  aged,  crimi- 
nals, insane  and  other  classes.  In  short,  any 
document  bearing  on  the  official  life  or  activi- 
ties of  the  state  must  be  preserved  and  no 
tetter  or  more  fitting  place  exists  than  the 
central  state  library. 

Furthermore,  our  political  life  and  inter- 
ests are  so  interrelated  that  for  the  different 
states  to  live  in  harmony  with  one  another, 
each  is  under  the  necessity  of  knowing  what 
the  other  states  are  doing.  The  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  specifically  provides 
that  "  full  faith  shall  be  given  in  each  state  to 
the  public  acts,  records  and  judicial  proceed- 
ings of  every  other  state,"  thus  clearly  recog- 
nizing their  mutuality  of  interest.  The 
states,  therefore,  collect  and  also  preserve 
state  documents  other  than  those  of  their  own 
states,  both  because  of  the  information  and 
guidance  which  their  officials  and  citizens  will 

163 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

derive  from  a  study  of  these,  and  because  of 
their  need  to  be  informed  of  the  legal  and 
official  activities  of  other  states. 

For  the  same  reasons  the  state  libraries  find 
it  necessary  to  be  a  repository  for  official 
publications  of  the  federal  government.  In 
fact,  the  state  libraries  have,  as  a  rule,  the 
best  collections  of  documents  within  their 
respective  states.  Under  the  federal  laws 
regulating  the  office  of  the  Superintendent  of 
Documents  of  the  United  States,  each  state 
library  is  recognized  as  a  depository  for  fed- 
eral publications,  and  only  as  it  makes  these 
accessible  to  and  encourages  the  use  of  these 
by  its  officers  and  citizens,  does  it  serve  both 
the  federal  government  and  them. 

In  addition  to  its  official  documents,  the 
life  of  the  state  is  recorded  and  best  inter- 
preted in  those  publications  having  direct 
reference  to  it.  Such  works  as  biographies 
of  its  more  prominent  citizens,  county  and 
state  society  histories,  local  directories,  rec- 
ords and  newspapers,  and  in  general  books 
dealing  with  the  political,  social,  industrial 
and  educational  life  must  be  preserved  since 

164 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

these   illuminate   and   enrich  its   own   ojfH- 
cial  records. 

Inasmuch  as  legislation  requires  a  knowl- 
edge of  fundamental  and  of  existing  law, 
almost  all  of  the  state  libraries  have  collec- 
tions of  law  books.  The  functions  of  some  of 
the  state  libraries  are  largely  those  of  law 
hbraries;  this,  for  example,  is  the  case  in 
Alabama,  Minnesota,  Missouri,  Oklahoma, 
Utah,  West  Virginia  and  Wisconsin.  In 
seventeen  other  states  separate  law  libraries 
are  maintained  by  the  state  in  addition  to  the 
existing  state  libraries. 

While  the  state  libraries  exist  to  serve  the 
citizens  of  the  state,  their  first  service  is  to 
the  state  legislators,  officials  and  employees 
for  whose  specific  use  these  hbraries  have  pri- 
marily been  created.  In  the  early  days  of  the 
Republic,  national  life  v/as  much  more  simple 
than  it  is  to-day.  Communities  were  smaller, 
and  the  legislator  not  only  understood  the 
problems  confronting  his  constituents  but  was 
intimately  familiar  with  most  of  the  problems 
confronting  the  nation.  To-day  conditions 
are  different,  due  mainly  to  the  greater  com- 

165 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

plexity  and  increased  number  of  problems. 
From  a  simple  agricultural  basis  and  a  simple 
machine  industry,  gi-eat  industrial  enter- 
prises have  sprung  up,  giving  rise  to  changed 
economic  and  social  conditions.  City  life 
and  community  life  have  become  more  in- 
volved and  more  complex,  calling  thereby 
not  only  for  more  legislation,  but  greater 
care  in  drafting  it.  All  these  developments 
have  considerably  augmented  the  responsibil- 
ity of  the  legislator  and  have  forced  him  to 
rely  on  others  for  information  as  a  basis 
for  action. 

It  should  be  noted  further  that  modern 
legislative  sessions  are  comparatively  short. 
In  this  short  period,  the  average  legislator, 
no  matter  how  great  his  intelligence,  finds  it 
well-nigh  impossible  to  secure  an  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  questions  involved  in, 
or  that  have  given  rise  to,  the  demand  for 
particular  legislation.  Frequently  he  has 
political  and  social  duties  which  serve  further 
to  minimize  his  time.  On  the  other  hand,  re- 
search organizations,  economists,  sociologists, 
educators  and  others  are  continually  adding 

166 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

to  our  stock  of  available  information,  and  this 
information  at  times  forms  a  basis  for  or 
serves  as  a  guide  in  legislation.  In  addition, 
the  newspaper,  the  magazine  and  pamphlet 
do  much  to  formulate  and  influence  public 
opinion.  With  these  studies  and  with  the 
steady  output  of  the  press,  the  modern  legis- 
lator can  neither  keep  up  nor  be  expected  to 
have  a  complete  acquaintance. 

It  is  here  that  the  state  library,  and  the 
legislative  and  municipal  reference  libraries 
step  in.  They  stand  between  the  legislator 
and  the  public,  interpreting  to  him  sympa- 
thetically from  every  angle  the  latter's  prob- 
lems. They  stand  between  him  and  the 
student  or  research  organization,  interpreting 
the  meaning  of  their  research.  They  digest 
information  bearing  directly  on  legislation 
and  place  it  before  the  legislator  in  such  form 
that  he  can  understand  what  is  being  con- 
sidered. They  inform  him  of  the  history  and 
results  of  similar  legislation,  they  supply 
copies  of  bills  introduced  in  the  same  or  in 
other  states,  and  they  acquaint  him  through 
newspaper  clippings  and  other  means  with 

167 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

the  trend  of  public  opinion.  They  aid  him  in 
the  preparation  of  speeches  on  questions 
being  considered,  and  in  some  states  even 
aid  him  in  drafting  bills  to  secure  spe- 
cific legislation. 

Dr.  Charles  McCarthy,  a  pioneer  in  legis- 
lative reference  work,  whose  activities  have 
won  him  a  national  reputation,  describes  this 
phase  of  the  work  as  follows : 

"  We  are  convinced  that  the  best  way  to 
better  legislation  is  to  help  directly  the  man 
who  makes  the  laws.  We  bring  home  to  him 
everything  that  will  help  him  to  grasp  and 
understand  the  great  economic  problems  of 
the  day  in  their  fullest  significance,  and  the 
legislative  remedies  which  can  be  appUed  and 
the  legislative  limitations  which  exist.  We 
must  take  the  theory  of  the  professors  and 
simphfy  it  so  that  the  ordinary  layman  can 
grasp  it  immediately  and  with  the  greatest 
ease.  His  work  is  new  to  him,  he  is  beset 
with  routine  work,  he  has  to  have  conferences 
with  his  friends  upon  political  matters,  he  is 
beset  by  office-seekers  and  lobbyists  and  he 
has  no  time  to  study.    If  he  does  not  study 

168 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

or  get  his  studying  done  for  liim,  he  will  fall 
an  easy  prey  to  those  who  are  looking  out  to 
better  their  own  selfish  ends.  Therefore  we 
must  shorten  and  digest  and  make  clear  all 
information  that  we  put  within  his  reach. 
This  is  a  tremendous  task  but  not  an  impos- 
sible one." 

Nearly  all  of  the  state  libraries  do  some 
legislative  reference  work,  although  the  char- 
acter of  this  varies  with  different  localities. 
In  some  states  legislative  reference  bureaus 
or  departments  have  been  provided;  in 
others,  the  service  is  performed  as  part  of  the 
general  work  of  the  state  library. 

What  has  been  said  of  the  state  applies 
in  equal  degree  to  the  city.  To-day  about 
half  of  the  population  of  the  United  States  is 
to  be  found  in  cities,  as  against  somewhat 
more  than  one-third  in  1890  and  about  one- 
tenth  in  1800.  New  York  City  alone  has  a 
population  greater  than  that  of  any  state 
except  its  own.  Chicago's  population  ex- 
ceeds that  of  any  of  forty  states  in  the  Union. 
The  ten  leading  cities  in  the  United  States 
comprise  over  one-eighth  of  its  total  popu- 

169 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

lation.  Life  in  any  of  our  larger  cities  gives 
rise  to  more  vital  issues  and  problems  with 
which  the  city  aldermen  or  councilmen  are 
called  upon  to  deal  than  confronted  the  entire 
nation  in  its  early  days.  State  and  city  gov- 
ernment is  a  business,  and  serving  the  state 
or  municipal  official  is  reajly  serving  the 
business  man  in  public  employment.  There 
is,  therefore,  the  same  need  and  opportunity 
for  service  as  in  business  hbrarianship  in 
private  employment. 

In  the  past  the  state  hbrary  was  frequently 
regarded  as  a  pohtical  plum,  and  the  thought 
of  civic  obligation  was  often  lacking  in  the 
appointee.  Recognition  that  the  state 
library  must  render  definite  service  in  return 
for  its  support  at  public  expense  has,  how- 
ever, of  late  become  quite  general. 

The  fact  that  in  fourteen  states  women 
are  in  charge  of  the  administration  of  the 
state  libraries,  shows  that  the  work  here  as 
in  other  types  of  libraries  is  open  to  those  of 
merit,  irrespective  of  sex.  Salaries  range 
from  $800  to  $5000  a  year.  Conditions  of 
work  are  similar  to  those  obtaining  in  other 

170 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

state  offices.  Employment  in  state,  legisla- 
tive reference  and  municipal  reference  libra- 
ries in  other  than  executive  positions  rests 
with  the  librarian.  In  twelve  states — ^Dela- 
ware, Georgia,  Kansas,  Maine,  Maryland, 
Massachusetts,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  New 
Mexico,  Pennsylvania,  West  Virginia  and 
Wyoming — the  state  librarian  is  appointed 
by  the  governor.  In  Louisiana  and  in  Rhode 
Island  appointment  is  made  by  the  Secretary 
of  State,  and  in  Kentucky,  Mississippi  and 
South  Carolina  appointment  is  made  by  the 
legislature.  In  the  remaining  states,  the 
state  librarian  is  named  by  boards  composed 
either  of  state  officials,  state  officials  and  citi- 
zens, or  of  citizens  exclusively. 

For  work  in  a  state  library  a  good  eco- 
nomic training,  a  famiharity  with  the 
agencies  of  government,  and  also  with  the 
numerous  publications  issued  by  them,  is 
essential.  A  knowledge  of  law  is  a  great  help. 
Aside  from  thorough  intimacy  with  the  me- 
chanics of  librarianship  which  is  always  pre- 
sumed, personality,  willingness  and  abiUty 
are  the  foundations  of  success.  The  qualifica- 

171 


TRAINING  ^On  LIBRARIANSHIP 

tions  predisposing  for  work  in  legislative  ref- 
erence and  municipal  reference  libraries  do 
not  vary  in  any  appreciable  degree.  The 
librarian  of  the  Municipal  Reference  Library 
at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  has  summarized  them  as 
(1)  "  Library  training  " ;  (2)  "  Training  in 
city  government  and  in  investigation.  .  .  . 
No  librarian  should  be  a  person  incapable  of 
making  investigations  and  presenting  their 
results  in  a  scholarly  manner  " ;  (3)  "Abilitj^ 
to  know  and  get  on  with  his  fellow-citizens, 
particularly  in  the  City  Hall.  .  .  .  He 
must  be  what  is  called  *  a  good  mixer  '" ;  and 
(4)  "Political  tact,  including  a  non- 
partisan attitude  on  pubHc  questions  in  his 
official  capacity." 


172 


CHAPTER  XVI 

Library  Commissions 

The  rapid  development  of  public  libraries 
in  the  United  States  led  the  several  states  to 
establish  library  commissions  These  commis- 
sions are  charged  with  the  duty  of  promoting 
library  interests  within  the  state.  This  they 
do  by  aiding  in  the  establishment  and  better 
organization  of  the  public  libraries,  by  super- 
vising them,  extending  financial  or  other  aid 
when  needed,  and  by  other  means  such  as 
instituting  travelling  libraries,  and  school 
and  institutional  libraries. 

In  the  small  urban  community,  for  exam- 
ple, the  library  income,  where  a  library  does 
exist,  is  generally  limited  and  the  service  as 
a  rule  is  inexperienced.  Since  such  small 
communities  in  all  of  the  states  vastly  out- 
number the  larger  cities,  the  field  for  work 
with  them  is  rather  extensive.  Furthermore, 
in  the  smaller  town  that  wealth  of  private  and 
public  educational  agencies  of  various  kinds 

173 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

which  obtains  in  the  large  city  does  not  exist ; 
consequently,  with  the  paucity  of  educational 
agencies  the  need  of  a  good  library  rendering 
as  efficient  service  as  possible  is  all  the 
more  pressing. 

The  same  applies  in  even  greater  degree  to 
rural  communities.  While  the  number  of 
books  accessible  to  persons  through  libraries 
has  increased  greatly,  the  fact  is  that  many 
millions  of  persons  hving  outside  the  cities 
have  no  access  to  libraries.  Of  the  2964<  coun- 
ties in  the  United  States,  794,  or  27  per  cent., 
have  one  or  more  libraries  of  not  less  than 
5000  volumes.  The  other  2170,  or  73  per 
cent.,  do  not  possess  hbraries  properly 
equipped  to  give  an  adequate  service.  Of  the 
forty-eight  states  in  the  Union,  thirty  serve 
less  than  half  of  their  population;  six  states 
through  their  public  hbraries  reach  less  than 
one-tenth  of  their  residents,  and  one  less  than 
2  per  cent.  These  figures  indicate  at  once 
both  the  splendid  opportunity  for  further 
library  development,  and  how  much  work 
still  remains  to  be  done  by  the  state  hbraryi 
commissions  and  similar  library  agencies. 

Recognition  of  the  library's  part  as  an 

174 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

agency  in  public  education  has  led  to  the 
feeling  that  the  state  should  in  some  manner 
foster  and  encourage  the  growth  of  public 
libraries,  exactly  as  has  been  done  with 
schools.  Many  of  the  commissions  are  now 
in  position  to  render  some  such  aid. 

In  addition  the  commissions  serve  as  in- 
formation centers  for  the  libraries  of  the 
state.  They  help  to  bring  together  those 
seeking  employment  and  those  looking  for 
workers.  In  some  cases,  as  in  California  and 
in  Wisconsin,  they  conduct  library  schools; 
in  others,  as  in  Indiana,  Michigan,  Minne- 
sota, New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania,  they 
conduct  summer  sessions.  In  Massachusetts 
the  Commission  pays  the  tuition  of  promising 
untrained  librarians  while  in  attendance  at 
the  Simmons  College  summer  sessions.  The 
commissions  can  supply  information,  perhaps 
better  than  other  agencies,  not  only  regard- 
ing Ubrary  conditions  and  opportunities  in 
the  state,  but  through  their  trained  staffs  can 
give  expert  advice  on  how  to  improve  and 
extend  existing  library  service. 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  the  work 
of  the  state  library  commissions  is  entirely 

175 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

constructive  and  frequently  of  a  pioneer 
character.  It  requires  an  intimate  knowledge 
of  library  technic,  of  community  need  and  re- 
sources. It  entails  broad  vision,  sympathetic 
understanding  and  above  all  executive  abil- 
ity. A  former  agent  of  the  Massachusetts 
Free  Library  Commission  won  for  himself 
the  title  of  "  the  travelling  bishop,"  descrip- 
tive both  of  the  estimation  and  affection  with 
which  he  was  regarded.  Work  with  the 
library  commissions  combines  the  spirit  of 
the  executive  and  the  scientist  with  that  of 
social  service,  for  here  one  must  not  only  be 
able  to  do,  but  know  how,  and  have  the 
willingness  to  do  for  others  without  thought 
of  personal  benefit. 

State  library  commissions  exist  at  present 
in  thirty-seven  states.  In  a  few  states  such  as 
in  California,  New  York  and  Utah,  the  state 
library  or  the  state  board  of  education,  in  lieu 
of  a  library  commission,  exerts  the  functions 
that  such  a  commission  would  have. 

On  the  following  pages  is  a  list  of  state 
library  commissions,  or  of  state  agencies 
serving  in  such  a  capacity,  together  with  their 
addresses  and  the  names  of  those  in  charge : 

176 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 


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TBAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

These  state  commissions  are  federated  in 
a  national  association  called  the  League  of 
Library  Commissions,  which  is  in  turn  affili- 
ated with  the  American  Library  Association. 
The  League  meets  annually  at  the  time  of  the 
midwinter  meeting  of  the  American  Library 
Association  in  Chicago.  It  issues  various 
publications,  among  them  a  League  of 
Library  Commissions  Handbook,  which  not 
only  describes  the  work  of  each  commission, 
its  personnel,  publications  and  contains  other 
pertinent  information,  but  also  gives  refer- 
ences to  the  best  literature  for  those  desiring 
to  secure  a  more  intimate  acquaintance  with 
commission  activities. 

Inasmuch  as  the  state  library  commissions 
serve  in  the  capacity  of  consulting  experts, 
opportunities  for  employment  with  them  are 
naturally  limited  to  those  of  superior  training 
and  ability.  For  those  seeking  advice  as  to 
opportunities  for  library  training  or  employ- 
ment in  a  specific  state,  no  better  recourse  can 
be  had  than  to  the  commissions.  The  com- 
missions are  always  glad  to  advise  with 
persons  planning  to  prepare  themselves  for 

180 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

librarianship  as  a  profession,  and  also  with 
individuals,  corporations,  libraries  and  simi- 
lar institutions  either  seeking  specific 
information  regarding  libraries  and  their  de- 
velopment, or  interested  in  securing  special 
training  for  their  assistants. 


181 


CHAPTER  XVII 

Training  Schools  and  Agencies 

A  NUMBER  of  schools  offering  special 
training  designed  to  prepare  for  library  work 
exist.  All  these  are  connected  with  institu- 
tions that  offer  facilities  for  practice  work. 
The  students  are  thus  given  a  thorough  train- 
ing and  a  background  of  experience  that 
varies  with  each  institution.  The  names  and 
locations  of  these  schools  ^  are: 

Washington  State 
University  of  Washington  Library  School,  Seattle 

California 

Library  School  of  the  Los  Angeles  Public  Library,  Los 

Angeles 
Riverside  Library   Service  School,  Riverside 
University  of  California,  Berkeley 

Wisconsin 
University  of  Wisconsin  Library  School,  Madison 

^The   Washington,   D.    C,   School   for   Secretaries   has 
recently  announced  a  Course  for  Business  Librarians  under 
the  personal  direction  of  Miss  Adelaide  R.  Hasse. 
182 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

Illinois 
University  of  Illinois  Library  School,  Urbana 

Missouri 
St.  Louis  Librarj'^  School,  St.  Louis 

Ohio 
Western  Reserve  University  Library  School,  Cleveland 

Texas 
University  of  Texas,  Austin 

Pennsylvania 
Carnegie  Library  School,  Pittsburgh 

New  York 

Library  School  of  the  New  York  Public  Library,  New 

York 
New  York  State  Library  School,  Albany 
Pratt  Institute  School  of  Library  Science,  Brooklyn 
Syracuse  University  Library  School,  Syracuse 
University  of  Buffalo,  Buffalo 

Massachusetts 
Simmons  College  School  of  Library  Science,  Boston 

Georgia 

Library    School    of    the    Carnegie    Library    of    Atlanta, 
Atlanta 

The  obvious  first  task  of  anyone  consider- 
ing attendance  at  any  of  these  hbrary  schools 

183 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

is  to  secure  a  copy  of  the  school  catalog.  The 
courses  given  vary  with  each  school,  and  while 
all  prepare  for  general  library  work,  some 
aim  also  to  train  for  service  of  a  specific  kind. 
Some  of  the  schools,  for  example,  design  their 
courses  to  fit  their  students  for  work  as  heads 
of  small  libraries  or  as  assistants  in  larger 
libraries.  Others  aim  more  particularly  to 
train  for  special  types  of  libraries  in  their 
state.  This  was  the  case,  for  example,  with  the 
California  State  Library  School.^  In  some 
of  the  schools  courses  are  given  which  will 
prepare  the  student  for  special  work,  as  chil- 
dren's librarian,  high-school  librarian  or  for 
work  in  a  business  library.  Some  of  the 
schools,  like  those  at  the  University  of  lUi- 

^  This  school  was  discontinued  in  May,  19^.  Mr.  Milton 
J.  Ferguson,  Librarian  of  the  California  State  Libraiy, 
writes:  "  At  the  May  meeting  of  the  Board  of  State  Library 
Trustees  it  was  decided  to  discontinue  the  California  State 
LabraTy  School.  The  University  of  California  at  Berkeley 
has  recently  established  a  library  school  department  which 
is  giving  very  good  service.  As  a  step  in  the  economy  of 
funds  and  effort,  the  State  Library  will  cooperate  with  the 
University  in  maintaining  a  satisfactory  school,  and  at  the 
same  time  make  every  effort  to  extend  libraTy  service 
throughout  the  state.*' 

184 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

nois,  Syracuse  and  the  University  of  Wash- 
ington, make  possible  the  combination  of  a 
college  and  library  com*se,  leading  to  a  bache- 
lor's degree  from  the  college  or  university, 
and  a  diploma  from  the  library  school.  A 
few  of  the  schools  accept  high-school  grad- 
uates, although  the  preliminary  educational 
requirement  is  being  raised  among  them  to 
include  at  least  two  years  of  college  work  or 
its  equivalent.  Several  schools  accept  only 
those  who  can  show  graduation  from  an 
approved  college. 

Fees  for  tuition  vary.  In  some  cases  no  fee 
is  charged.  In  the  majority  of  schools  it 
ranges  from  $50  to  $100  a  year.  Similarly 
the  cost  of  living  accommodations  varies  from 
locality  to  locality,  although  an  expenditure 
of  $40  to  $50  a  month  generally  is  regarded 
as  sufficient  for  rent  and  board.  In  most 
of  the  schools  a  trip  to  neighboring  libraries 
and  representative  libraries  in  other  states  is 
made  prior  to  graduation;  the  cost  of  these 
trips  ranges  from  $25  in  the  lowest  instance 
to  $60  in  the  highest.  Only  a  study  of  the 
library  school  catalog  and  consultation  with 

185 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

the  head  of  the  hbrary  school  can  enable  the 
prospective  student  to  estimate  the  required 
expenses  for  the  course.  Scholarships  and 
loan  funds  for  worthy  students  are  available 
in  some  of  the  schools.  In  a  few  paid  practice 
work  may,  with  the  approval  of  the  library 
school  head,  be  arranged. 

The  length  of  the  courses  varies  from  one 
to  two  years.  In  some  four  years'  attendance 
is  required.  Courses  given  vary  from  school 
to  school,  although  in  the  main  the  subjects 
covered  are  much  alike.  All  schools,  for 
example,  require  their  students  to  take  such 
fundamental  courses  as  those  dealing  with 
library  management,  classification,  catalog- 
ing, book  selection,  history  of  libraries  and  of 
printing,  government  documents,  library 
buildings  and  library  legislation.  All  require 
some  practice  work  before  graduation.  Field 
work,  involving  visits  to  libraries  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  the  school  and  in  other  places,  is  re- 
quired without  exception. 

A  typical  course,  that  of  Pratt  Institute, 
is  outlined  below: 

186 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

Outline  of  the  Course 
pratt  institute  school  of  library  science 
Admimstrative  Courses 
Administrative  Problems 
Book  Buying 

Branch  and  Department  Administration 
Business  Methods 
Civic  Institutions 
History  of  Libraries 
Library  Buildings 
Library  Legislation 
Library  Printing 
Survey  of  Libraiy  Field 
Work  with  Children 

Technical  Courses 
Classification,  Decimal 
Classification,  History  of 
Cataloging,  Principles  of 
Cataloging  of  Maps 
Cataloging  Subject  Headings 
Government  Documents 
Library  Economy 
Indexing 

Technical  French 
Technical  German 
Elementary  Italian  (Elective) 

Book  Courses 

Book  Selection — Principles 

Editions 

Publishers 

Appraisal  of  Fiction 

Appraisal  of  Periodicals 

187 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

Child  ren*s  Books 

Reference  Books 

Bibliography — General  and  Subject 

Bibliography — Trade 

Questions  of  the  Day 

Story  Telling  (Elective) 

Field  Work  (visits  to  libraries,  binderies,  auctions,  etc.) 
Spring  Trip  One  Week 

Practical  Work  in  Pratt  Institute  Free  Library 
Cataloging  Department 
Circulating  Department 
Children's  Department 
Reading  Room 
Reference  Departments 

Most  of  the  schools  require  the  candidate 
to  pass  an  entrance  examination.  These  ex- 
aminations are  not  technical  in  character. 
They  are  designed  to  test  the  general  infor- 
mation of  the  candidate,  especially  his  knowl- 
edge of  literature,  history,  current  events, 
and  at  least  one  modern  language,  generally 
either  French  or  German.  Many  of  the 
schools  issue  specimen  sets  of  questions  which 
have  been  asked  in  previous  examinations. 
Below  is  a  sample  question  paper  used  at  one 
of  the  schools. 

188 


Supplementing  the  public  libraries,  industrial  firms  all  over  the  United  States  are  pro- 
viding literature  and  reading  rooms.  The  upper  picture  illustrates  the  library  of  a 
national  manufacturer  in  New  York,  and  the  lower,  the  periodical  and  general  reading 
room  of  a  great  copper  mining  concern  of  Arizona,  which  is  maintained  not  only  for 
employees  but  for  residents  of  the  community. 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

Specisien  Entrance  Examination  Paper 

(Library  School  of  the  St.  Lxjuis  Public  Library) 

History  and  Current  Events 

1.  What  European  countries  took  part  in  the  discovery  and 

settlement  of  the  Western  Hemisphere;  what  portion 
was  covered  by  each? 

2.  Describe  the  growth  of  the  free  cities  of  Italy,  France, 

and   Germany,  and   show  the   relation   between  this 
growth  and  the  Crusades. 

3.  Show  how  the  monastic  orders  benefited  the  people  of 

Western  Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages  in  other  than 
religious  matters. 

4.  For  what  were  the  following  men  famous  and  when  and 

where  did  they  live? 
Nelson  Peter  the  Great 

Mazarin  Confucius 

Garibaldi  Alfred  Nobel 

Wolsey  Anthony  Vane 

Cervera  Farragut 

5.  Write  fully  on  the  public  services  of  any  two  of  the 

following  persons: 

Benjamin  Franklin 
John  Jay 
Robert  Morris 
Herbert  Hoover 

6.  Describe  briefly  the  different  forms  of  government  which 

France  has  had  since  1815,  and  explain  the  causes  of 
the  several  changes. 

7.  What  is  meant  by  five  of  the  following  terms; 

Conservation  and  reclamation 
Employers'  liability 

189 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

Industrial   Workers  of  the  World 

Conservation  and  reclamation 

Income  tax 

Open  shop 

Great  white  plague 

8.  Discuss  briefly: 

(a)  How  does  the  immigrant  aflFect  our  national  life? 
(6)  How  does  our  national  life  affect  the  immigrant? 

9.  What  positions  are  held  by  the  following  men? 

Harry  A.  Garfield 
Joseph  P.  Tumulty 
Philander  P.  Claxton 
Arthur  T.  Hadley 
David  Franklin  Houston 
10.  Write  a  page  on  the  topic: 

Rome  is  historically  the  most  interesting  city  in  the 
world. 

English  Literature  and  General  Information 

1.  Write  a  page  on  the  scope  of  the  novel  as  compared  with 

the  drama". 

2.  Contrast  any  two  poets  who  appeal  to  you  strongly,  but 

for  diflFerent  reasons. 

3.  Characterize  in  a  sentence  each  of  the  following  persons, 

giving  nationality  and  approximate  dates: 

Galileo  Caxton 

Verdi  Doctor  Johnson 

Michael  Angelo  Turgenieff 

Pestalozzi  Edgar  Lee  Masters 

Linnaeus  Lord  Dunsany 

4.  Give  an  appreciation  (in  100  words)  of  two  of  the  fol- 

lowing authors:    Ibsen,   Kipling,   Batrie,   Chambers, 
Tarkington. 

190 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

5.  What  is  meant  by  the 

(a)  Little  Theatre  Movement. 
(6)  Drama  League  of  America. 

6.  Who  wrote  the  following?     Answer  10. 
Sartor  Resartus  Faust 
Age  of  Reason  Peer  Gynt 
Utopia  War  and  Peace 
Life  of  the  Bee  Oregon  Trail 
Divine  Comedy  Jean  Christophe 
The  Blue  Bird  To  a  Skylatk 

Alice  in  Wonderland 

7.  Describe    in   half   a    page   the    Anglo-Saxon   period    in 

English  literature. 

8.  Identify  the  following  charsicters  by  telling  in  what  work 

each  occurs,  and  characterize  each  in  a  few  words: 
Polonius  Mulvaney 

Uriah   Heep  Ariel 

Doctor  Jekyll  Nydia 

Mrs.  Malaprop  Mr.  Squeers 

John  Alden  James  Fitz-James 

9.  Name  ten  books  which  you  would  choose  for  your  own 

private  library. 

10.  Write  a  page  on  Shakespeare  and  the  theater  of  his  day. 

(A  passage  for  sight  translation  from  a  modern  language 

accompanies  the  group  of  questions.) 

In  some  of  the  schools,  as  at  Pratt  Insti- 
tute, a  test  in  typewriting  is  included  in  the 
examination.  In  all  of  the  schools  a  knowl- 
edge of  typewriting  is  assumed.    All  exam- 

191 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

inations  are  held  at  the  school  at  the  time  set. 
Where  distance  makes  it  difficult  for  the 
applicant  to  take  the  examinations  at  the 
school,  the  privilege  of  taking  a  local  exam- 
ination is  generally  granted,  provided  the 
local  hbrarian  will  consent  to  conduct  it. 

Usually  admission  to  the  schools  is  pos- 
sible only  at  the  beginning  of  the  school  year. 
Accepted  candidates  who  for  any  reason  do 
not  enter  the  school  whose  examinations  they 
have  passed,  are  generally  required  to  take 
new  examinations  if  they  wish  to  enter  in  a 
subsequent  year.  Most  of  the  schools  require 
a  personal  interview  with  the  appHcant  before 
admission.  Some  also  make  a  preliminary 
practice  period  of  about  two  weeks  in  some 
well  organized  library  essential.  Those  de- 
siring to  enter  any  of  the  schools  should  write 
to  the  directors  in  charge  and  secure  copies 
of  the  application  blanks  which  must  be  filled 
out  and  submitted.  In  some  cases  a  state- 
ment from  a  physician  testifying  that 
the  apphcant  is  in  good  physical  health 
is  required. 

192 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

In  the  accompanying  table  informa- 
tion regarding  courses,  requirements,  costs 
and  other  pertinent  information  has 
been  included : 

In  addition  to  the  library  schools  many 
public  libraries,  such  as  those  at  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.,  Cleveland,  O.,  Grand  Rapids,  Mich., 
Detroit,  Mich.,  Springfield,  Mass.,  and 
Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  have  apprentice  courses  or 
special  training  classes  which  are  designed 
to  prepare  for  work  in  the  institutions  in 
which  they  are  given.  These  courses  include 
a  short  probationary  period  during  which  the 
student's  fitness  for  the  work  is  determined. 
The  complete  courses  range  in  a  majority  of 
cases  from  thi-ee  to  nine  months  in  length.  No 
tuition  fee  is  charged.  Information  regard- 
ing libraries  providing  such  opportunities  for 
training  may  be  obtained  from  state  library 
commissions  (see  Chapter  XVI),  or  by  ap- 
plying to  the  local  librarian. 

In  some  of  the  states,  as  in  Illinois,  In- 
diana, Massachusetts,  Michigan,  Minnesota, 
New  Jersey,  North  Carolina  and  Pennsyl- 

13  193 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

In  the  accompanying  table  informa- 
tion regarding  courses,  requirements,  costs 
and  other  pertinent  information  has 
been  included : 

In  addition  to  the  library  schools  many 
public  libraries,  such  as  those  at  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.,  Cleveland,  O.,  Grand  Rapids,  Mich., 
Detroit,  Mich.,  Springfield,  Mass.,  and 
Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  have  apprentice  courses  or 
special  training  classes  which  are  designed 
to  prepare  for  work  in  the  institutions  in 
which  they  are  given.  These  courses  include 
a  short  probationary  period  during  which  the 
student's  fitness  for  the  work  is  determined. 
The  complete  courses  range  in  a  majority  of 
cases  from  thi*ee  to  nine  months  in  length.  No 
tuition  fee  is  charged.  Information  regard- 
ing libraries  providing  such  opportunities  for 
training  may  be  obtained  from  state  library 
commissions  (see  Chapter  XVI),  or  by  ap- 
plying to  the  local  librarian. 

In  some  of  the  states,  as  in  Illinois,  In- 
diana, Massachusetts,  Michigan,  Minnesota, 
New  Jersey,  North  Carolina  and  Pennsyl- 

13  193 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

vania,  short  intensive  courses  are  given  dur- 
ing the  summer.  Many  of  these  are  designed 
particularly  for  those  employed  in  libraries 
and  already  possessed  of  some  experience  in 
the  work.  The  state  library  commissions 
and  the  library  schools  are  in  the  best 
position  to  give  information  regarding  such 
summer  courses. 


194 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

LiBRAKY  Associations 

Over  one  hundred  library  associations  and 
clubs  exist  in  the  United  States.  Some  of 
these  are  national  in  scope,  others  are  state 
associations  and  some  are  local  clubs  limiting 
their  membership  to  specific  cities  or  neigh- 
borhoods. On  the  whole,  all  of  them  are 
alike  in  object,  since  they  exist  to  promote 
professional  standards  and  further  the  inter- 
ests of  librarians. 

Of  the  national  associations  the  American 
Library  Association,  with  its  more  than  4000 
members,  is  the  largest  and  most  important. 
It  was  organized  in  1876,  and  in  its  member- 
ship are  to  be  found  representatives  of  every 
library  in  the  country  of  any  significance. 
In  its  membership,  too,  are  to  be  found  the 
leaders  of  the  profession  and  those  who  have 
helped  or  who  to-day  are  helping  to  make 
American  librarianship  what  it  is.  Its  list 
of  presidents  and  other  officers  includes  many 

195 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

notable  names  and  the  Association  has  always 
exerted  a  predominating  influence.  During 
the  European  War  the  Library  War  Ser- 
vice of  the  American  Library  Association 
came  to  be  known  from  coast  to  coast  and 
almost  everywhere  in  the  battle  area ;  its  story 
has  been  too  well  told  to  need  rehearsal.  The 
Association,  commonly  referred  to  as  the 
A.L.A.,  is  now  engaged  in  cooperation  with 
other  national  library  associations  in  carrying 
out  an  Enlarged  Program  in  keeping  with 
progressive  ideas  of  library  service. 

The  association  holds  an  annual  conference 
in  the  late  spring  or  early  summer,  and  in 
addition  holds  each  year  a  midwinter  ^  meet- 
ing generally  at  about  Christmas  time.  The 
annual  meetings  are  held  sometimes  in  one 
part  of  the  country,  sometimes  in  another; 
the  midwinter  meeting  is  held  in  Chicago. 
The  meetings  are  generally  well  attended. 
The  A.  L.  A.  issues  a  quarterly  Bulletin 
which  describes  its  activities  and  which  con- 
tains the  proceedings  of  its  annual  meetings. 
These  conferences  provide  a  forum  for  con- 

1  Not  an  annual  meeting  of  the  whole  A.  L.  A- 
196 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

stnictive  discussion  of  the  problems  of  inter- 
est to  librarians.  In  addition,  the  A.  L.  A. 
publishes  various  books  and  pamphlets  deal- 
ing with  library  work;  it  aims  thereby,  and 
through  its  Executive  Secretary's  office,  to 
serve  as  a  clearing  house  of  information 
on  library  questions  and  activities.  The  dues 
are  $2  a  year. 

Next  to  the  American  Library  Association 
the  Special  Libraries  Association  stands  out 
both  by  virtue  of  the  size  of  its  membership 
and  its  valuable  work  in  the  field  which  it 
covers.  Founded  in  1909,  the  S.  L.  A.,  as 
it  is  commonly  known  among  hbrarians,  has 
come  forward  by  leaps  and  bounds  until  its 
membership  to-day  comprises  over  500  per- 
sons and  institutions.  The  object  of  this 
Association  is,  according  to  its  constitution, 
"  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  commercial, 
industrial,  technical,  civic,  municipal  and 
legislative  reference  libraries,  the  special  de- 
partments of  pubhc  libraries,  universities, 
welfare  associations  and  business  organiza- 
tions." Its  most  constructive  service  has  been 
done  in  connection  with  the  development  of 

197 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

business  libraries,  and  the  S.  L.  A.  is  to-day 
engaged  in  close  cooperation  with  the 
A.  L.  A.  in  giving  practical  advice  and  aid 
to  business  concerns  in  the  organization  of 
special  libraries. 

The  S.  L.  A.  is  governed  by  an  Executive 
Board  and  also  an  Advisory  Council  of 
representatives  of  commercial,  financial,  in- 
surance, legislative  reference,  technical, 
industrial  and  welfare  libraries.  The  asso- 
ciation meets  annually,  generally  at  the  same 
time  and  place  as  the  A.  L.  A. ;  prominent 
business  men  attend  and  address  its  sessions. 
The  Association  has  won  for  itself  a  unique 
place  because  of  its  insistent  campaign  in 
behalf  of  the  practical  use  of  available  infor- 
mation, and  because  of  its  success  in  stimu- 
lating interest  in  business  libraries  and  in 
extending  special  libraries  to  every  field  in 
which  men  earn  a  living.  The  S.  L.  A.  issues 
an  official  magazine  called  Special  Libraries, 
which  appears  monthly,  except  during  July 
and  August;  this  magazine  contains  articles 
descriptive  of  the  development,  work,  and 
methods  of  special  Ubraries,  and  notes  im- 

198 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

portant  literature  and  events  of  interest  to 
special  librarians.  It  contains  also  practical 
bibliographies  and  reading  lists  on  important 
subjects  of  timely  interest.  The  membership 
fee  in  the  S.  L.  A.  for  either  institutions  or 
individuals  is  $4  a  year;  this  includes  also  a 
subscription  to  Special  Libraries. 

The  National  Association  of  State  Libra- 
ries was  organized  in  1898  to  bring  together 
those  employed  or  interested  in  state  libraries, 
for  the  consideration  of  problems  common  to 
all.  Its  purpose  is  also  to  assist  in  the  de- 
velopment of  state  libraries  and  increase  their 
efficiency.  While  at  first  confined  to  state 
libraries,  the  Association  was  subsequently 
broadened  so  as  to  include  legislative  and 
municipal  reference  bureaus.  The  Associa- 
tion meets  annually  at  the  same  time  and 
place  as  the  A.  L.  A,  Its  annual  confer- 
ences bring  together  the  most  prominent  state 
librarians  in  the  country.  Membership  is  of 
two  classes.  Regular  membership  open  only 
to  those  connected  with  state  libraries,  state 
historical  societies,  state  law  libraries  and 
other  libraries  doing  the  work  of  state  libra- 

199 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

ries,  costs  from  $5  to  $25  a  year.  The  Asso- 
ciation publishes  a  Year  Book  and  a  report 
of  the  proceedings  of  its  annual  convention. 
It  is  the  best  source  to  approach  for  informa- 
tion regarding  work  in  state  libraries. 

The  American  Association  of  Law  Libra- 
ries does  for  the  law  librarian  what  the 
A.  L.  A.  does  for  the  public  librarian,  and 
the  S.  L.  A.  for  the  business  librarian. 
Founded  in  1906,  the  Association  has  at  pres- 
ent about  150  members,  mostly  hbrarians, 
but  including  also  lawyers  and  others  inter- 
ested in  law  libraries.  The  annual  dues  are 
$2.  The  Association  pubhshes  regularly  the 
Index  to  Legal  Periodicals  and  Law  Library 
Journal  which  contains  not  only  pertinent 
information  regarding  the  work  of  the  Asso- 
ciation, but  also  important  notes  of  interest 
to  the  law  librarian  and  an  index  to 
legal  periodicals. 

The  Medical  Library  Association  meets 
each  year  in  May  or  June  at  the  same  time 
and  place  as  the  American  Medical  Associa- 
tion. Its  membership  includes  both  hbra- 
rians and  those  interested  in  the  care  of 

200 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

medical  literature.  Among  its  officers  hare 
been  physicians  as  well  as  librarians;  the 
Association  includes  160  persons  and  institu- 
tions. It  issues  a  quarterly  Bulletin  of  the 
Medical  Library  Association^  which  contains 
addresses  delivered  at  the  annual  meeting 
and  news  regarding  the  progress  of  medical 
libraries.  An  important  work  of  the  Associa- 
tion is  the  exchange  of  medical  publications 
among  its  members ;  in  this  way  useful  and 
sometimes  important  publications  are  turned 
over  to  others  who  have  need  of  them.  This 
ser\dce  to  members  is  imique  and  may  well  be 
adopted  by  other  associations. 

The  American  Library  Institute  exists  to 
encourage  research,  book  publication  and 
higher  education  in  the  field  of  library 
science.  It  is  composed  of  about  100  promi- 
nent librarians.  The  Bibliographic  Society 
of  America  brings  together  those  interested 
in  bibliography  and  rare  books.  The  League 
of  Library  Commissions  serves  as  a  bond 
between  the  various  state  commissions. 

State  hbrary  associations  exist  in  nearly 
all  of  the  states.     Their  uniform  aim  is  to 

201 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

bring  together  those  interested  in  library 
work  and  problems,  to  improve  the  condition 
of  libraries  and  librarians  within  the  state, 
through  discussion  and  joint  action  to  clarify 
thought  on  hbrary  matters  and  lay  a  basis 
for  sound  practice.  The  American  Library 
Annual  lists  each  year  the  names  of  existing 
library  associations,  the  dates  of  their  meet- 
ings and  the  names  and  addresses  of 
their  officers. 

These  associations  are  all  glad  to  advise 
those  considering  librarianship  as  a  life  work, 
regarding  the  opportunities  in  the  field  or 
locality  covered  by  them.  They  are  in  con- 
tact with  hbrarians  and  know  of  openings  for 
employment.  They  are  glad  also  to  welcome 
to  their  meetings  those  interested  in  libraries. 


202 


CHAPTER  XIX 

Filing  as  a  Profession 

Closely  connected  with  library  work  and, 
indeed,  a  part  of  it  is  filing.  In  a  general 
way  it  may  be  stated  that  the  library's  chief 
concern  is  the  care  of  printed  matter,  whereas 
that  of  the  filing  department  is  the  care  of 
unprinted  matter,  mainly  correspondence. 
This  distinction  cannot  be  carried  too  far, 
for  in  some  instances  the  library  is  a  part  of 
the  fihng  department,  all  matter  of  whatever 
nature  on  similar  subjects  being  filed  to- 
gether, while  in  other  cases  the  filing  depart- 
ment is  part  of  the  library.  The  ideal 
arrangement  and  one  which  is  rapidly  coming 
to  prevail  in  the  larger  business  houses  and 
commercial  organizations,  is  to  have  an  In- 
formation or  Research  Department,  with  the 
library  and  the  files  as  two  divisions  func- 
tioning under  it.  The  head  of  the  Informa- 
tion Department  in  such  cases  is  frequently 
an  experienced  librarian,  familiar  not  only 

203 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

with  library  and  filing  technic,  but  also  with 
research  methods  and  practice. 

The  development  of  the  scientific  spirit  in 
business  has  led  to  the  adoption  of  orderly 
and  efficient  method  wherever  possible.  Fil- 
ing has  thus  found  a  secure  place  for  itself  and 
the  growing  demand  for  trained  and  experi- 
enced file  clerks  is  evidence  of  the  increasing 
recognition  of  its  importance  as  of  the  reahza- 
tion  that  correct  fihng  is  an  art  to  be  mas- 
tered only  through  special  training  and 
experience.  The  old  method  of  entrusting  the 
filing  of  essential  papers  to  any  minor  clerk 
or  stenographer  is  still  met  with  in  the  smaller 
concerns,  and  persists  mainly  because  the 
amount  of  correspondence  and  similar  docu- 
ments to  be  preserved  is  not  so  great  as  to 
have  created  the  need  for  special  file  clerk  or 
filing  department.  In  the  larger  industrial 
or  commercial  establishment,  where  the  busi- 
ness records  are  both  numerous  and  complex, 
a  filing  system  of  some  kind  is  necessary. 
Since  effective  service  to  the  executive  re- 
quiring any  of  these  records  demands  speed 
and  accuracy,  a  trained  file  clerk  is  essential. 

204 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

Indeed  the  filing  department  is  generally 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  important  in  any 
business,  and  its  effectiveness  or  ineffective- 
ness will  be  reflected  in  a  like  condition  of 
other  depai'tments. 

Equipment,  whether  machinery,  tools,  fur- 
niture or  buildings,  and  men,  no  matter  how 
important,  can  be  replaced,  but  the  records 
of  a  company  if  lost  or  destroyed  can  never 
be  completely  duplicated.  Hence  the  im- 
portance of  good  record-keeping,  for  records 
so  misplaced  or  misfiled  as  not  to  be  available 
on  demand,  are  for  the  moment  as  good 
as  lost. 

Necessary  business  documents  may  be 
filed  according  to  various  methods.  These 
methods  are  predicated  both  on  scientific 
order  in  arrangement  and  on  sound  practice. 
While  the  technic  of  filing  may  be  mastered 
by  experience  in  a  first-class  filing  depart- 
ment, the  theory  and  science  underlying  filing 
in  general,  and  a  knowledge  of  the  numerous 
systems  in  vogue,  and  their  applications  in 
business,  are  generally  best  obtained  through 
training  in  those  schools  of  filing  that  exist. 

205 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

Moreover  that  thorough  intimacy  with  the 
work  which  the  schools  give,  and  which  in 
practice  makes  every  act  so  rich  in  meaning 
and  yet  so  easy  of  understanding,  and  that 
infuses  so  much  pleasure  into  work,  is  to  be 
obtained  from  no  other  source  than  the 
schools.  At  present  such  schools  of  fiHng 
exist  in  various  parts  of  the  country. 

As  in  librarianship,  so  in  filing,  women 
predominate.  Nevertheless,  both  the  nature 
of  the  work  and  the  salaries  offered  are  such 
as  to  attract  men  as  well  as  women.  It  may 
be  noted,  however,  that  wherever  men  are 
engaged  in  filing  work,  they  are  generally 
employed  as  executives  of  their  respective 
departments ;  yet  their  number  is  so  small  as 
to  make  the  group  almost  negligible.  For 
this  reason  filing  is  generally  conceived  as  a 
profession  for  women. 

Remmieration  in  the  work  varies,  ranging 
from  an  average  of  about  $15  to  $20  a  week 
for  the  beginner  to  between  $75  and  $100 
a  week  for  the  expert.  In  general,  the  same 
working  conditions  as  apply  to  office  workers 
in  business  apply  also  to  file  clerks. 

206 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

On  the  surface  the  work  would  appear 
monotonous ;  yet  in  fact  it  is  as  interesting  as 
any  type  of  office  work.  The  complete  re- 
liance of  the  workers  in  the  business  on  the 
file  clerk  to  supply  them  with  required  docu- 
ments and  records  of  necessity,  makes  the  task 
one  of  responsibihty  in  which  neatness,  speed, 
accuracy  and  a  sense  of  service  and  team- 
work go  far  to  assure  success.  Good  physical 
health,  tact  and  a  sense  of  order,  good  temper 
and  abihty  to  get  along  with  others  are  essen- 
tial in  this  vocation.  A  good  education,  with 
the  equivalent  of  high-school  graduation  as  a 
minimum,  is  almost  fundamental.  Beyond 
this  the  best  training,  as  indicated,  is  to  be 
obtained  through  the  recognized  fihng 
schools.  Opportunities  both  for  employment 
and  advancement  in  the  work  are  numerous ; 
the  demand  for  trained  workers  by  far 
exceeds  the  supply. 


207 


CHAPTER  XX 

General  Conclusions 

In  his  essay  entitled  On  a  Certain  Blind- 
ness in  Human  Beings,  Professor  William 
James  makes  clear  that  only  as  one  partici- 
pates actually  and  sympathetically  in  the 
experiences  of  others  can  he  understand  and 
realize  those  experiences.  The  detached 
individual  and  the  unmoved  onlooker  remain 
blind  to  the  real  significance  of  things  and 
of  life  about  them.  "  The  right  way  of  seeing 
each  other's  work  "  requires  the  sympathetic 
entering  into  the  occupational  experience  of 
others.  The  first  essential  is  to  do  the  work 
that  others  do.  In  other  words,  life  must  be 
lived  to  be  known  and  interpreted. 

He  who  would  pursue  a  chosen  task  effec- 
tively must  understand  it  intelligently  in  all 
its  details,  and  be  capable  of  interpreting  it 
sympathetically  to  others.  This  he  can  do 
only  if  he  has  had  occupational  experience  in 
the  task.    Therefore  the  would-be  librarian 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

is  taught  cataloging,  classification,  binding, 
etc.,  at  the  library  school,  not  because  he  will 
thereby  become  a  cataloger,  classifier  or 
binder,  but  because  only  in  that  way  can  he 
gain  full  and  definite  understanding  of  cer- 
tain fundamental  elements  in  library  activity. 
He  is  taught  to  use  dictionaries,  encyclope- 
dias, and  indexes  so  as  to  gain  a  sense  of  real- 
ity regarding  the  nature  of  the  work  and  the 
materials  employed  in  it.  The  development 
of  this  sense  of  reality  is  necessary  to  make  the 
occupational  activity  concrete.  Realizing 
the  soundness  of  this  educational  principle, 
the  schools  teach  the  use  of  tools  often 
elementary,  but  none  the  less  necessary. 

The  apprentice-in-training,  and  the 
worker  in  the  library  trying  to  prepare 
himself  for  librarianship  through  practical 
experience,  are  too  often  forced  to  conform 
to  the  needs  of  the  library  in  which  they  are 
employed.  They  do  not  always  receive  com- 
plete training;  they  do  not  get  that  rounded 
view  of  the  work  which  is  the  prime  need  of 
the  library  executive.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
schools  are  frequently  criticized  for  the  theo- 

U  209 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

retical  character  of  the  training  which  they 
give,  for  their  emphasis  on  technic  over 
method,  their  comparative  lack  of  apprecia- 
tion of  practical  details,  and  the  inexperience 
of  their  students.  Whatever  the  view  taken, 
however,  it  is  certain  that  the  best  prepa- 
ration for  librarianship  is  to  be  attained 
through  library  experience  superimposed  on 
previous  personal  preparation,  or  library- 
school  training. 

Applied  library  science  is  yet  in  its  experi- 
mental stage.  There  is  on  this  account  every 
opportunity  for  the  man  or  woman  possessed 
of  initiative  and  resourcefulness  to  rise  to  a 
place  of  leadership  in  the  profession.  To  the 
outsider  librarianship,  like  every  other  pro- 
fession, seems  to  be  overcrowded  and  to  offer 
little  chance  for  development.  Yet  this  is 
not  the  case.  Poorly  prepared  and  untrained 
persons  and  those  of  second-rate  ability  will 
naturally  find  it  difficult  to  advance;  this  is 
the  case  in  every  profession.  The  clerical 
worker  is  never  as  well  rewarded  as  is  the 
able  manager,  nor  does  the  common  laborer 
receive  as  good  a  wage  as  the  skilled  worker. 

210 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

Those  without  especial  skill  of  any  kind, 
without  education,  and  without  training  are 
always  the  most  plentiful;  competition  for 
subsistence  is  on  that  account  greater  among 
them,  and  because  they  are  so  many  their 
earnings  are  in  consequence  low.  This  is  the 
economic  law  and  it  is  as  true  in  library  work 
as  it  is  in  business. 

Salaries  in  the  special  libraries  are  at  pres- 
ent considerably  higher  than  those  prevailing 
in  public  libraries.  This  is  due  to  the  more 
intensive  training  which  they  require,  and  the 
premium  which  business  is  always  willing  to 
place  on  abihty  and  capacity.  However,  due 
in  large  measure  to  rising  standards,  the  pub- 
lic libraries  are  finding  themselves  under  the 
necessity  of  paying  higher  salaries  than  were 
formerly  common. 

Salaries  for  head  librarians  in  public 
libraries  range  from  $10,000  a  year  to  about 
$1000.  In  business  libraries  head  librarians 
receive  from  $10,000  to  about  $1500.  In 
general,  however,  the  better  the  educational 
equipment  and  training  of  the  individual,  the 
better  is  the  salary  offered.  The  New  York 

211 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

State  Library  School,  for  example,  states 
that  the  average  initial  salaries  received  by 
graduates  of  the  school  were  $1220  in  1918, 
$1341  in  1919,  and  $1733  in  1920.  These 
salaries  are  for  those  who  have  completed 
the  two-year  course.  Some  of  the  students, 
however,  leave  after  only  one  year  of  train- 
ing. For  such  students  the  average  initial 
salary  in  1918  was  $962,  in  1919  it  was  $1080, 
and  in  1920  it  was  $1444.  In  other  words, 
the  salary  of  the  graduate  was  greater  than 
that  of  the  student  who  had  completed  only 
part  of  the  course.  The  Acting  Vice- 
Director  of  the  school  adds:  "  These  figures 
emphasize  the  uniform  experience  of  thirty 
years  that  the  students  who  take  the  full 
course  of  two  years  receive  appreciably 
larger  initial  salaries  than  are  received  by 
one-year  students." 

The  demand  for  hbrarians  and  assistants 
has  for  many  years  been  considerably  greater 
than  the  supply ;  consequently  a  good  many 
persons  of  indifferent  aptitudes  and  of 
second-rate  training  have  drifted  into  libra- 
rianship.     This  condition  has  tended  to  de- 

212 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

press  standards ;  naturally  those  institutions 
with  fixed  incomes  and  paying  the  least  have 
suffered  the  most,  in  that  they  have  been 
forced  to  accept  mediocre  workers.  Other 
influences,  however,  are  now  operating  that 
in  time  are  certain  to  make  it  hard  for  any 
but  well-trained  persons  to  remain  in  the 
work.  The  movement  for  certification  of 
librarians,  whereby  all  but  graduates  of 
approved  library  schools,  or  those  proving 
satisfactory  experience  in  lieu  thereof,  will 
be  required  to  take  examinations  set  by  a 
National  Board  of  Certification,  is  indicative 
of  the  tendency  in  this  direction.  Certifica- 
tion has  been  approved  by  the  Committee 
on  Enlarged  Program  of  the  American  Li- 
brary Association.  Furthermore,  boards  of 
trustees,  business  executives  and  those  re- 
sponsible for  the  management  of  libraries 
universally  recognize  the  advantages  which 
good  education,  sound  training,  and  wide 
experience  ensure,  and  prefer  for  executive 
positions  in  their  libraries  those  offering  the 
best  qualifications,  while  librarians  in  their 

213 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

turn  are  guided  by  similar  considerations  in 
selecting  their  assistants. 
^  In  librarianship,  as  in  every  other  occupa- 
tion, low  salaries  and  poor  chances  of  success 
are  inevitable  corollaries  of  inferior  educa- 
tion, inadequate  training,  and  unfitness.  The 
most  unwise  step  the  individual  can  take  is 
to  try  to  save  on  his  education.  The  cheapest 
education  inevitably  costs  the  dearest.  There- 
fore the  would-be  hbrarian,  even  before  he 
enters  the  library  school  or  the  apprentice 
class,  should  aim  to  lay  for  himself  as  thor- 
ough an  educational  foundation  as  he  can.  It 
will  immeasurably  f  acihtate  his  hbrary  school 
and  training  work;  it  will,  on  the  one  hand, 
simplify,  and  on  the  other  enrich  the  meaning 
of  whatever  he  learns.  By  giving  him  a  wider 
educational  and  informational  background  it 
will  enable  him  ultimately  to  render  more 
efficient  service,  while  at  the  same  time  it  will 
make  it  possible  for  him  to  share  in  those  joys 
and  satisfactions  which  culture  and  success 
always  bring. 

It  is  impossible  to  specify  to  the  last  letter 
the  qualities  of  which  the  man  or  woman 

214 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

thinking  of  entering  the  hbrary  profession 
should  be  possessed.  Nor  is  it  pertinent  to 
carry  to  the  nth  degree  a  description  of  the 
intellectual  training  which  should  be  prelimi- 
nary to  library  training.  Obviously  the  bet- 
ter the  training  the  gTeater  the  chance  of 
success.  The  individual  who  sees  in  librarian- 
ship  merely  the  opportunity  to  provide  for  his 
daily  needs  under  suitable  surroundings  and 
in  a  congenial  atmosphere,  will  merely  earn  a 
living  and  nothing  more.  The  expert  finds 
almost  every  way  open  to  him.  In  librarian- 
ship  as  everywhere  else  the  rule  prevails,  the 
greater  the  merit  the  greater  the  reward. 
Low  compensation  is  too  frequently  the 
measure  of  low  ability ;  the  capable  person  not 
only  can,  but  invariably  does,  command  a 
good  salary. 

'No  person  can  hope  for  success  in  hbra- 
rianship  without  adequate  training.  Whether 
the  library  school,  the  apprentice  class,  the 
specialized  course,  the  summer  school  or 
individual  preparation  will  best  meet  the 
needs  of  the  student,  no  one  but  himself  can 
determine.     Fau-ly  wide  choice  is  possible, 

215 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

and  only  close  study  of  the  catalogs  and  an- 
nouncements issued  can  help  in  making  a 
decision.  The  local  librarian  or  the  state 
library  commission  can  always  be  appealed  to 
for  advice  and  will  generally  be  glad  to 
respond.  Therefore,  the  would-be  librarian 
should  first  determine  whether  he  is  fitted  for 
library  work,  then  decide  the  particular  type 
of  activity  for  which  he  wishes  to  prepare 
himself,  and  finally  choose  the  means  of  train- 
ing that  will  best  meet  his  need.  More  ad- 
vanced persons  of  superior  education  may 
find  it  possible,  through  diligent  private 
study,  under  proper  guidance  to  secure  a 
working  knowledge  of  the  mechanics  of  libra- 
rianship.  Whatever  the  method  pursued,  it 
should  be  remembered  that  the  better  the 
training  the  better  the  chances  of  success.  To 
the  well-trained  person  the  door  of  oppor- 
tunity is  always  open. 

Some  institutions  make  it  possible  to  com- 
bine college  and  library-school  training. 
Others  are  of  the  character  of  graduate 
schools  and  require  graduation  from  a  recog- 
nized university  as  requisite  for  admission. 

216 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

A  good  education  is  naturally  basic  for  in- 
telligent work. 

The  librarian  who  possesses  a  fund  of 
knowledge  and  can  use  this  to  supplement 
information  in  the  library's  collections,  is 
obviously  more  capable  of  offering  satisfac- 
tory service  and,  indeed,  of  making  himself 
invaluable  than  one  without  such  an  intellec- 
tual background.  The  men  or  women  who 
know  are  ever  in  demand;  they  do  not  have 
to  wait  for  opportunity,  they  create  it.  But 
always  preparedness  is  fundamental  to  effi- 
cient functioning. 

He  who  is  undertaking  to  equip  himself 
for  library  work  should  temper  his  theoretical 
knowledge  or  training  by  practical  experi- 
ence in  a  library.  This  will  give  him  greater 
insight  into  his  life  work.  It  will  open  the 
window  of  experience  and  enable  him  to  see 
more  correctly  the  relationship  between  the 
library  and  those  whom  it  undertakes  to 
serve.  Theory  and  practice  are  the  alphabet 
of  effective  work  in  a  hbrary  as  elsewhere. 
They  are  the  solid  ground  upon  which  every 
skilled  worker  stands.    Neither  theory  with- 

217 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

out  practice,  nor  practice  without  theory  is 
of  much  avail.  Without  a  knowledge  of 
theory,  practice  is  merely  mechanical  per- 
formance; it  may  be  obedience  to  another's 
direction,  to  authority,  accident  or  tradition. 
It  does  not  rest  on  rational  purpose,  on  con- 
scious aim  or  choice  of  plan  based  on  thought- 
ful weighing  of  all  pros  and  cons.  On  the 
other  hand,  without  practice,  theory  is  knowl- 
edge untested  by  actuality.  It  lacks  the  con- 
creteness  and  richness  of  meaning  which 
experience  gives.  The  best  combination  of 
both  is  to  be  desired. 

As  much  preliminary  educational  training 
as  can  be  afforded  should  be  obtained.  High- 
school  graduation  should  be  the  absolute 
minimum.  At  least  two  years  of  college  or 
university  study  should  be  aimed  at;  more 
should  be  obtained  if  possible.  The  college 
graduate  invariably  enters  the  school  better 
qualified  for  efficient,  inteUigent  work,  and 
gains  more  from  his  training  than  a  student 
less  well  equipped. 

For  efficient  service,  knowledge  of  and 
proficiency  in  other  languages  is  almost  a 

218 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

necessity.  In  library  work,  as  in  commercial 
activity,  the  saying  holds:  "  He  who  knows 
four  languages  is  equal  to  four  men." 

It  used  to  be  said  that  "  the  librarian  who 
reads  is  lost."  The  librarian  who  would  be 
successful  must,  however,  read ;  only  he  must 
follow  the  advice  of  Bacon,  of  some  books 
merely  to  taste,  others  to  read  carefully  and 
a  few  to  digest  thoroughly.  Both  caution 
and  wisdom  must  guide  in  deciding  the 
amount  and  character  of  the  reading,  for 
obviously  he  who  reads  so  much  as  to  interfere 
w^th  his  other  duties  is  heading  for  difficulty. 
Very  little,  however,  goes  on  in  the  world, 
the  impulse  of  which  is  not  shortly  felt  in  the 
library.  To  keep  up  with  the  whole  mass  of 
print  is  impossible.  Nevertheless,  while  the 
librarian  may  properly  be  expected  to  know 
everything  about  his  own  craft,  he  will  at  the 
same  time  find  it  advisable  to  be  respectably 
informed  on  a  great  many  topics. 

A  knowledge  of  the  mechanics  of  libra- 
rianship,  however,  is  fundamental  to  good 
work.  Order  and  system  must  be  second 
nature  to  the  librarian,  for  library  method  and 

219 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

technic  are  the  means  whereby  he  displays 
his  skill.  If  he  is  a  librarian  in  truth,  every- 
one may  assume  that  he  knows  how  to  use  the 
tools  of  his  trade.  But  librarianship,  as  has 
been  indicated,  is  still  in  its  experimental 
stage.  On  the  one  hand  this  means,  for  those 
possessed  of  initiative,  originality  and  an  in- 
quiring spirit,  an  opportunity  to  rise  quickly 
through  meritorious  endeavor.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  requires,  if  one  wishes  to  be  progres- 
sive, continued  knowledge  of  what  is  bemg 
done;  the  student  should  make  it  a  habit, 
therefore,  to  read  the  library  periodicals 
regularly.  They  are  not  many,  but  their 
perusal  is  worth  while,  and  will  keep  him  in- 
formed of  what  is  going  on.  "  Keep  the 
windows  of  your  mind  open."  There  is  so 
much  to  be  known,  and  human  capacity  for 
knowledge  is  so  small,  that  one  cannot  know 
too  much. 

The  student  should  also  bear  in  mind  the 
counsel  of  Emerson :  "  Do  not  leave  the  sky 
out  of  your  landscape."  Much  of  library 
work  is  routine ;  there  is  on  that  account  dan- 
ger of  getting  into  fixed  habits  of  mind  and 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

thought,  of  falling  into  a  rut.  Getting  into 
a  mental  strait- jacket  should  be  avoided. 
Contact  with  others  at  library  clubs,  at  asso- 
ciation meetings  or  national  conferences,  is 
one  of  the  ways  to  this  end;  visits  to  other 
libraries,  and  observation  of  methods  pur- 
sued, is  another. 

The  success  of  any  librarian  depends  then, 
first,  on  liberal  education;  second,  on  pro- 
fessional training,  and  third,  on  personal 
quahties  such  as  good  health,  trained  mem- 
ory, enthusiasm,  intelligence,  executive  abil- 
ity, and  interest.  He  who  would  succeed  in 
library  work  has  it  in  his  power  to  assure  his 
own  success.  Effective  training  for  librarian- 
ship  is  the  shortest  and  at  the  same  time  the 
easiest  road  toward  it. 


221 


CHAPTER  XXI 

Suggested  Further  Reading  on  Training 

FOR  LiBRARIANSHIP 

The  student  considering  librarianship  as  a 
life  work,  and  wishing  to  secure  further  infor- 
mation regarding  the  character  of  the  work 
and  the  training  required  for  it,  will  do  well 
to  consult  the  reports  of  the  annual  confer- 
ences of  the  different  associations  of  libra- 
rians, such  as  those  of  the  American  Library 
Association,  the  Special  Libraries  Associa- 
tion, the  National  Association  of  State  Libra- 
ries, the  American  Association  of  Law 
Libraries  and  the  Medical  Library  Associa- 
tion. The  Proceedings  of  the  National  Edu- 
cation Association  contain  the  addresses  and 
reports  made  annually  before  the  Library 
Department;  these  are  concerned  more  par- 
ticularly with  school  library  work.  The  Bul- 
letin of  the  American  Library  Association 
contains  also  reports  of  the  following  sec- 
tions comprised  within  its  membership :  agri- 
cultural libraries  section,  catalog  section, 
children's    librarians    sections,    professional 

222 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

training  section,  college  and  reference  sec- 
tion, and  trustees'  section.  Reports  of  the 
round  tables  of  religious  and  theological 
libraries,  hospital  libraries,  lending  depart- 
ments, public  documents  and  training  class 
teachers  are  also  reported  in  the  Bulletin. 

Reference  to  the  three  leading  library- 
journals — The  Library  Journal,  Public 
Libraries,  and  Special  Libraries — will  also 
be  found  helpful.  These  journals  contain 
articles  descriptive  of  practice  and  develop- 
ments among  libraries,  and  their  regular 
perusal  is  advisable  for  the  librarian  as  well 
as  for  the  student  in  training.  The  library- 
commissions  of  some  of  the  states,  notably 
Indiana,  Iowa,  Minnesota,  Nebraska,  New 
Hampshire,  Vermont,  and  Wisconsin,  issue 
bulletins  which  appear  regularly  and  which 
contain  interesting  information  about  library 
work  within  these  states.  Reference  to  the 
annual  reports  of  the  larger  public  libraries 
will  aid  in  giving  an  idea  of  their  activities 
and  the  scope  of  the  work.  Some  special 
libraries,  like  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation 
library  and  the  Engineering  Societies' 
library,  issue  annual  reports. 

223 


TRAINING  FOR  LIBRARIANSHIP 

In  general,  the  publications  of  the  A.  L.  A. 
Publishing  Board,  located  at  Chicago,  111., 
the  H.  W.  Wilson  Co.,  New  York,  and  the 
Boston  Book  Co.,  Boston,  Mass.,  all  special- 
izing in  library  books,  are  of  value.  In  addi- 
tion, the  following  are  suggested  for  further 
reading  and  reference.  The  list  is  suggestive 
and  not  a  complete  reading  list: 

Bostwick,  Arthur  E.     The  Amencan  Public  Library,     D. 

Appleton  &  Co.,  New  York,  1917.    396  pp. 
Cannons,  Harry  G.  T.    Bibliography  of  Library  Economy. 

Russell  &  Co.,  London  1910.     448  pp. 
Brown,  James  D.     Manual  of  Library  Economy.     Library 

Supply  Co.,  London,  1907.    492  pp. 
Dana,  John  Cotton.    Addresses  and  Essays.    H.  W.  Wilson 

Co.,  New  York,  1916.     299  pp. 
Dana,  John  Cotton.     Modern  American  Library  Econonvy, 

a*  Illustrated  by  the  Newark,  N.  J.,  Public  Library. 
.  Parts  1-6.    Elml  Tree  Press  Co.,  Woodstock,  Vt.,  1908- 

1919. 
Fay,  Lucy  E.,  and  Anne  T.  Eaton.    Instruction  in  the  Use 

of  Books  and  Libraries.    Boston  Book  Co.,  Boston,  1915. 

449  pp. 
Hudders,  E.  R.    Indexing  and  Filing.     Ronald  Press  Co., 

New  York,  1916.     292  pp. 
Kaiser,  J.   B.     Law,  Legislative  and  Reference  Libraries. 

Boston  Book  Co.,  Boston,  1914.  467  pp. 
Legler,  Henry  E,    Library  Ideals.    Open  Court  Publishing 

Co.,  Chicago,  1918.    78  pp. 
Powell,  Sophy  H.    The  Children's  Library.    H.  W.  Wilson 

Co.,  New  York,  1917.    460  pp. 

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